Clinical characteristics of taste and smell disorders.

Chemosensory problems can have major consequences for those patients who develop them. Although more than 200 conditions and 40 medications have been linked to taste and smell disorders, for most patients the cause will fall into one of the following categories: nasal/sinus disease, idiopathic, postviral URI, and head trauma. Careful attention to clinical characteristics will aid immensely in the diagnosis. Parosmias, dysgeusias and the burning mouth syndrome are symptoms that deserve special consideration.