I was applying a numbing oral gel to my mouth to help with a painful cancer sore. I added too much so I got some on my tongue. I found that I was now unable to taste anything. This got me wondering, why does this numbing agent cause my tastebuds to lose their taste-sensing abilities? Is taste based on touch/feel? I always figured that taste wasn’t really based on the feel of a food/object but more of a chemically constructed sense (if that makes sense?). Anyhow, if anyone can explain what’s happening, that would be great to know! 🙂
In: Biology
The only difference between pain receptors and taste receptors is the shape of their ends. Otherwise, they function the same way – for comparison, a light bulb and a radio both run on electricity and both turn off if your house loses power, despite doing completely different things. Pain reduction chemicals all do similar things – they turn down the effectiveness of the nerves, which for this comparison is equivalent to reducing the amount of electricity in the house, which will make the light dimmer and the radio quieter.
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