Can I get your thoughts on something? My mother is 76 years old and fairly active for her age. She still lives independently, cooks and cleans for herself and goes shopping regularly. Overall, I think she is in good health. When I spoke to her this morning, she mentioned that she had totally lost her sense of taste and smell and that it had been like that for at least a week. What could be wrong and what do we need to do now?
Please tell me if your mother is currently taking any medication? Some drugs have loss of taste and smell as a side effect, and that is the first thing that you should rule out before you need to start worrying. Apart from that, possible causes are the common cold, which you should ask your mom about too, and head injuries. If she hasn't had any of these, your mom should see a doctor about her symptoms because they can indicate something serious is wrong.