I can taste that

Published

I've had a few patients tell me that they could "taste" the IV meds that I'm giving them. Anybody else heard of this? What is the cause?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I've heard of chemo meds giving patients a metallic taste in their mouths.

I found this on Duke's website. I thought it had something to do with the meds being secreted in saliva....

Drugs secreted into the saliva can exert adverse effects on the taste system either by modifying taste transduction mechanisms or by producing a taste of their own. Drugs can also diffuse from the blood to stimulate receptors on the basolateral side of taste receptor cells. Taste losses associated with drugs or concurrent with protein malnutrition and wasting may also be caused by impaired turnover of taste cells although there have been no formal experiments to test this hypothesis. The relative frequencies with which drugs alter taste and smell have not yet been determined using quantitative experimental testing procedures.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg and CCU/ER.

Yes. I have heard of this. I was giving some phenergan to a patient IV and he said he could actually taste that and that it tasted awful. Don't really know what the cause of it is. Let me know if you find out.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

IV contrast can also give pts a metallic taste. Just one of the side effects.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NA, Stepdown, L&D, Trauma ICU, ER.

My hubby has had several surgeries and outpatient procedures. He swears he can smell the saline flushes, says it's an antiseptic/mediciney kind of smell. I just had a patient who swore she got a taste from saline, when I mentioned my hubby to her, she said it was more of a smell than a taste now that she started thinking about it. Never heard of it before, but it seems to be true.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Dialysis, neuro, surgical, M/S,tele.

i had a few pt.'s say that to me the other week but before that i had never heard of anyone tasting iv fluids kinda wierd huh

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Anesthesia.

While in the hospital during my last pregnancy, I had a midline IV catheter placed. Whenever I would get something IVP through that line, I could taste the alcohol from the swipe used to clean the port. I mentioned it to the nurse once & she said she heard that pretty often from patients with midline caths.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
My hubby has had several surgeries and outpatient procedures. He swears he can smell the saline flushes, says it's an antiseptic/mediciney kind of smell. I just had a patient who swore she got a taste from saline, when I mentioned my hubby to her, she said it was more of a smell than a taste now that she started thinking about it. Never heard of it before, but it seems to be true.

I'm with your husband here. I too have have a number of recent surgeries and hospital stays, and for me, saline flushes taste/smell sort of like new plastic. It's not particularly unpleasant, just weird. So after I experienced this phenomenon for the first time, I started advising patients when I started their IVs that this could happen and not to worry about it; many people never noticed anything, but occasionally someone would say, "You know, I've told nurses that before, and nobody believed me".:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I started IV Levaquin on a pt who had nover had it before and he said that he got a metallic taste in his mouth. Also during cardiac caths, when the dye is injected people often get a metallic taste in their mouths. Kinda weird, but prob just a side effect. Always good to be cautious though, could be a sign of allergy and the taste in their mouth could be a precursor of something more to come..

:redlight:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yes. I personally "taste" IV toradol, that gives me a metallic taste. I also had a slew of patients tell me the same on a Surg/Onc ICU floor. Now, I work for a private Oncology practice doing outpatient chemo, and oncology research (for pharmaceutical sponsors) and I hear the "metallic" comment quite a bit!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

some of my patients tell me that they can taste ferrlecit that we give during dialysis and apparently it tastes pretty bad! i usually give lifesavers to those patients that complain and that seems to help.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, psych, corrections.

I've had several oral surgeries in which I received Versed and Fentanyl. The periodontist told the RN to give me 2mg of Versed and within seconds of connecting her syringe to my IV, I had this metallic taste in my mouth. It didn't taste bad; just weird. After that, I all I remember is "floating".....LOL

Melanie = )

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion