Ask DR KAYE: Why can I still taste and smell the things I ate days later?

Days after eating I can still smell or taste things, which is very unpleasant. Both my GP and my dentist are baffled and I really don’t know where to turn. What could cause this?

Many people will resonate with being able to smell or taste something they have eaten recently, or even after a few hours. But it’s quite unusual to be able to do this for days afterwards.

Phantosmia is the term for smelling something that isn’t really there, and there can be several reasons behind this. Check with your pharmacist first to see if the medications you are taking could be causing this. Alternatively, lingering smells and tastes may also be due to tooth decay, so another visit to the dentist may be in order.

Smell and taste are closely linked. If you have indigestion or acid reflux, you may burp a lot, and this can bring the smell and taste of food back into your nose and mouth. If you have symptoms of burning pain in the stomach, a short course of medication called proton pump inhibitors may help.

Similarly, rumination syndrome is a condition in which food you have just eaten rises back up into the throat, which can result in a lingering taste or smell, or food can get stuck in a bag in your throat, also called a pharynx – or esophageal pouch. instead of going to the stomach.

There may be other reasons for a lingering odor. Soft, painless growths in the nose called nasal polyps can lead to an unpleasant odor. Even colds or allergies can lead to odor changes, as can smoking.

Changes in smell can also be due to serious neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or stroke. It is therefore important to visit your doctor.

I took statins for fifteen years, but stopped taking them five years ago because I read that they can cause dementia. My cholesterol has crept up and I have type 2 diabetes, so I thought about starting over, but I don’t want to lose my memory. What should I do?

Statins are prescribed to help lower cholesterol, thereby increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. There were concerns that memory loss was linked to statin use, but research appears to have debunked this.

However, it is not clear whether it is cholesterol itself that increases the risk of dementia or whether it is other factors that are more common in people with high cholesterol, such as high blood pressure, or a combination of these.

In fact, research has shown that taking a statin to prevent cardiovascular disease can actually reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, by almost a third.

When prescribing statins, your doctor will take into account many factors that can increase your chances of having a heart attack or stroke, as well as cholesterol levels. These include age, body mass index (BMI), your blood pressure, and whether or not you have conditions such as type 2 diabetes or chronic kidney disease. It is likely that someone with high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes would benefit from taking statins.

It would also be a good idea to discuss any other concerns you have around memory loss.

Whether or not you decide statins are right for you, lifestyle factors such as quitting smoking and reducing your alcohol intake can help prevent dementia.

I have had severe tinnitus for two years that won’t go away. The noise is worse at night, preventing me from sleeping. I have been prescribed benzodiazepines to help me sleep, although I know not to take sedatives for too long. Would something else help?

Tinnitus can make life miserable. The constant ringing, buzzing or whooshing sound can affect one or both ears, but there are a number of treatments that can help reduce its effect.

Sound therapy, which involves apps or machines that emit white noise – the sound of rain, running water, or similar constant soft sounds – is one option. It does not fix the tinnitus, but works by distracting the brain, especially at night.

Tinnitus is also linked to anxiety and depression, which can be helped through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – a talking therapy that can help you cope with the symptoms.

Although the cause of tinnitus is unknown, it is associated with hearing loss. That’s why purchasing hearing aids can help some people. It is also linked to diabetes and thyroid disease, so it is worth getting checked for this.

Medications, such as certain antibiotics and anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, can also cause tinnitus.

Taking sedatives such as benzodiazepines is unlikely to help in the long term. Over time they become less effective and you will need to take a higher dose to achieve the same effect. They can also cause side effects such as confusion, slurred speech and difficulty concentrating.

It’s best not to stop taking it suddenly, as this can lead to unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and panic attacks.

Skipping your health MOT is not good for your health

New figures reveal that only four in ten adults are attending their NHS Health Check appointment

Have you been struggling to make time for your NHS Health Check? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. New figures show that only four in ten adults attend their appointments.

These free health assessments – like a body MOT – are offered to anyone aged 40 to 74 and are an essential way to detect high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol – problems that may not cause symptoms, but dramatically increase the risk. increasing heart attack or stroke.

Doctors know that prevention is better than cure, and if we catch these conditions early, we can treat them, reducing the risks. But I also understand that taking the time to go to the doctor when you feel fine can be an unnecessary burden.

Haven’t bothered to redeem your NHS Health Check invitation? And if so, why? What would help you to be present? Write along and share your thoughts.

When screening comes too late

Should we screen for colon cancer earlier? A study I read last week shows that deaths from this disease in women aged 25 to 49 are expected to be 40 percent higher this year than six years ago.

In the Annals of Oncology, researchers wrote about poor diets, heavy drinking and a lack of exercise. But colon cancer can affect anyone.

I am not a smoker, I do not drink alcohol, I exercise regularly and eat enough fiber, but at the age of 39 I was diagnosed with it.

The government is bringing back the standard screening age for people in England to 50, but for me this would still have been too late.

In the US, screening is offered from age 45 because research shows that this helps catch more cases at an early stage.

Is the NHS screening age too high? Write to us and let us know.