- With Mayo Clinic geriatrician
Paul Y. Takahashi, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Paul Y. Takahashi, M.D.
Paul Y. Takahashi, M.D.
"The Internet will impact the lives of all patients young and old. Older and mature patients are no exception to this information explosion." — Dr. Takahashi
Dr. Paul Yoshio Takahashi works with elderly patients as a member of the geriatric consultative group at Mayo Clinic. He works in all medical settings, including the outpatient clinic, the hospital, the nursing home and occasionally the patient's home. He is especially interested in strategies for successful aging, preventing elder abuse and mistreatment, and cognitive screening in elderly patients.
Dr. Takahashi is a consultant, Department of Medicine, Division of Community Medicine, at Mayo Clinic. He is an assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He had a fellowship in geriatric medicine at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine from 1997 to 1998.
Dr. Takahashi cares for all of a patient's acute needs and chronic problems and focuses on specialty issues such as memory problems, safety in the home, healthy aging, proper medications and end-of-life concerns.
He sees the Internet playing a growing role in the health information field.
"Patients and their families want and expect the most up-to-date information about life, health, disease and death. Healthy aging as a concept has grown quickly over the last 20 years as we have all lived longer and hopefully better," he says. "I expect that Mayo Clinic will be a significant part of this growing movement of a healthy maturity."
Dr. Takahashi, a native of Pittsfield, Ill., joined Mayo Clinic in 1998 and is board certified in internal medicine with added qualification in geriatric medicine. He is a fellow of the American Geriatrics Society.
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Question
Loss of taste and smell: A normal part of aging?
Is some loss of taste and smell normal as I get older? Is there anything I can do about it?
Answer
from Paul Y. Takahashi, M.D.
Some loss of taste and smell occurs normally with aging. This can be due to degeneration of the nerves that control smell, which can directly or indirectly affect taste. Also, the number and sensitivity of your taste buds diminish with age. However, a decrease or loss of taste and smell may also occur due to other, often treatable, causes. These causes may include:
- Nasal and sinus problems, such as allergies, sinusitis and nasal polyps
- Certain medications, such as some antibiotics, high blood pressure medications and chemotherapy
- Mouth sores, tooth decay or poor dental hygiene
- Head injury
- Cigarette smoking
- Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Loss of taste and smell can have a significant impact on quality of life. Diminished taste and smell can lead to decreased appetite and poor nutrition in older adults. It may also tempt you to use too much salt or sugar on your food to enhance the taste — which is a problem if you have high blood pressure or diabetes. For these reasons, it's important to have any taste and smell loss evaluated by your doctor. If properly diagnosed, many causes of impaired taste and smell are treatable. Treatment may include:
- Over-the-counter or prescription medications if allergies or sinusitis is a problem
- Quitting smoking if you are a smoker
- Dental care, if tooth decay or gum disease (gingivitis) is the cause
- Changing medications or doses, if your current medications are causing impaired taste and smell
- Surgery to remove nasal polyps
