Scientists say that the number of taste buds everyone has in their mouth start to decline with age, and that can mean that your aging family member just doesn’t taste her food the same way that she used to. But having a diminished sense of taste can be not only frustrating, but cause other difficulties as well.
Why Does This Happen?
There can be a multitude of reasons that your elderly family member starts to experience changes in her sense of taste. For some seniors, medication side effects are a huge reason that taste changes. Dental issues can also be a factor. Some seniors start to lose their sense of smell, and this can affect how things taste as well. Your elderly family member may also be more prone to dry mouth, which can affect how well her taste buds function.
Losing Her Sense of Taste Can Be a Tricky Problem
Home Care in St. Petersburg FL
If your elderly family member lives on her own, then not having a functional sense of taste can be more problematic than you or she might realize. She may not realize when foods have gone bad, for instance. Or she may do things like over salt food when she needs to be cutting back on sodium intake. There are a variety of different reasons that your senior maybe shouldn’t rely on just her own sense of taste, and home care providers might make that situation a lot easier for her.
Making Meals More Enjoyable Helps
One big problem is that without a fully functioning sense of taste, your senior may be more likely to skip meals. It helps to make meals as enjoyable as possible to counteract that issue. Using spices and herbs that offer depth of flavor and scent can help. It can also help if your elderly family member has more meals with other people. All of these changes together can offer other aspects of food and eating that your senior can focus on.
Get Some Extra Help
When you try to solve this problem for your senior, things can get trickier than you expect. It helps to have home care providers working with your senior to find the right solutions for her situation. Home care providers get to know your elderly family member, as well as her preferences and what gets through to her changed taste buds.
Losing her sense of taste isn’t something that your senior should just overlook and expect as a part of growing older. It’s important that she finds ways to compensate and enjoy her meals anyway.
If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Home Care in St. Petersburg, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.
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Becky Moultrie is Owner and Administrator of Assisting Hands Home Care Serving Pinellas. Guided by a motto to Do Good with Love, she’s well positioned to do just that at Assisting Hands. She has a passion for helping families keep seniors and those who are diabled happy and healthy at home. She serves on a number of boards in Pinellas County including the Pinellas Park Gateway Chamber and Better Living Seniors (BLS), leading the Membership Committee. Annually, she hosts a Silver Santa Party, collecting donations for nearly 100 low income seniors in the county. She attends Blessed Sacrament Church, Seminole where she is an Ascribed Member of the Rosminian Order. When not busy Doing Good in the community, Becky is at home with her husband David & their 4 children, tending to their beehives and digging in the garden.
