What is in our Vitamins? Featuring Avenleigh (5 yo)
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Avenleigh wants to know what is in our vitamins and why do we take them, so she asks the pharmacist!
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Episode 117 - Voice Troubles
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Laryngitis, known as inflammation of the larynx, is the most common cause of hoarseness and voice loss. It is very common in viral infections, such as a cold, flu, or adenovirus. Acute laryngitis is caused by an illness, while chronic laryngitis may be a secondary symptom of another problem.
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Episode 116 - Voice
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Notes coming soon!
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Episode 115 - Gag Reflex
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
The gag reflex, as well as other pharyngeal reflexes, protect you from choking and ingesting improper things. If it does not follow the proper swallowing procedure, rarely does it get permission to enter.
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Episode 114 - Bad Breath
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Halitosis, aka bad breath, can have many causes. Some bad breath you can prevent with the choices you make, but some bad breath can be a sign of a more serious issue or disease.
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Episode 113 - Dysphagia
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
While dysphagia can be very uncomfortable and lead to some unwanted side effects, the biggest concern is with the risk of aspiration, or breathing food or drink into the lungs, that leads to pneumonia.
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Episode 112 - Swallowing
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
You never think to swallow until you start talking about swallowing. The voluntary swallowing process must be initiated before the involuntary swallowing reflexes take over. This includes when you go to the dentist and while you are sleeping!
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Episode 111 - Tonsillectomy
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
The what, why, and how of a tonsillectomy. While a tonsillectomy is a frequent surgery for kids and adults, it is still surgery and requires preparation and care before during and after.
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Episode 110 - Tonsils
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Your tonsils are in the back of your throat. You can see them, you can feel them. They help protect you but can be a big pain while they do it.
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Episode 109 - Metallic Taste
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Over 250 medications can causes changes in taste. A metallic taste is the most common. Some are secreted in the saliva, others disrupt receptors or signals.
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Aguesia: no taste
Hypoguesia: reduced ability to taste (no the same as when taste changes due to changes in ability to smell)
Dysgeusia: dysfunctional taste - bad, salty, rotten, or metallic taste (metallic is the most common).
Causes for Change
Chemotherapy and radiation for cancer causes taste changes because the taste buds are rapid-cycling cells and the goal of chemo and radiation is to kill fast-growing cells (cancer cells are definitely fast-growing).
Head trauma or brain damage may damage the path of taste from the mouth to the brain.
Conditions like GERD, diabetes, urinary retention, and dry mouth can cause dysgeusia. Zinc deficiencies can too (in case you can't tell, zinc plays a big role in many processes in your mouth).
Over 250 medications can causes changes in taste. These include blood pressure medications, antibiotics, chemotherapy, asthma medications, and lithium. Some of them are secreted in the saliva, so the change in taste is because you actually taste the medicine. Other changes are because the medication disrupts or alters receptor or signal transport (i.e. ion transport - sodium, calcium, potassium, or chloride).
My Own Metallic Taste
I was taking generic Biaxin, AKA clarithromycin, for a sinus infection. Clarithromycin is in a class of medication called macrolides. Macrolides work on infections by disrupting the DNA-copying proteins in the bacteria. They are known as bacteriostatic antibiotics, which means they stop the bacteria from growing and dividing, but do not kill them. This allows your own immune system to get rid of the bacteria itself.
Clarithromycin is excreted in your saliva at ~2.72 mg/L. To get an idea of how small this amount is, it takes you 12-24 hours to produce 1 liter of saliva. Only 3-7% of adults report metallic taste with clarithromycin.
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