Gustatory hypersensitivity

Welcome to the next article about a certain type of sensory processing disorder, today about gustatory hypersensitivity. It’s in other words over responsiveness to taste. In the case we suffer from this disorder, our brain process sensory inputs from our taste cells differently so we evaluate normal gustatory (or taste) inputs like the strong ones.

Let’s introduce few symptoms to make the all thing clearer.

First of all, we are simply over sensitive to tastes, as it was said above. It may results in many of following symptoms. We can be very picky eaters, because we are not able to stand strong spicy, sweet, sour or salty foods. We often prefer foods with neutral or almost neutral taste. The same goes for drinks. We may refuse to lick stamps or envelops because we don’t like the taste which is provided when we really lick it. The taste of toothpaste or mouthwash can be very unpleasant to us as well. We may be fearful or unwilling to try new foods because we are afraid of gustatory input it will provide. Strong tastes can make us very sick or even cause us vomiting time to time.

These are the signs of gustatory hypersensitivity. If you have found yourself in them then there’s a big likelihood you have above described disorder. Which coping strategies could help us with managing this problem? Choose types of food which you like or which don’t cause you any distress and eat primarily them. Also try to get slowly used to other foods which are not extremely disgusting for you, but which you don’t like the most. If you can’t eat most of the foods because of this condition, than feel free to buy vitamins, dietary supplements or nutridrinks to give your body needed substances.

I don’t have almost any personal experiences with this disorder and that’s why I can’t share almost anything. I have only experienced gustatory hypersensitivity when I was put on antidepressant Zoloft. All tastes were suddenly too much for me. Therefore I understand how distressing condition it can be for many us of. Don’t hesitate to use your own set of coping strategies to handle this world better!

Have you find yourself in above described signs? Do you know somebody who suffers from this disorder? Do you want to share your experiences or ask some question? Write us in the comment section bellow. We are always here for you!