A metallic taste can come from medicines, vitamins, gum disease, sinus infection, or pregnancy. See a doctor or dentist if it persists.
Common causes
- Medicines (antibiotics like metronidazole, lithium, blood pressure drugs).
- Vitamins and minerals (zinc, iron, copper, multivitamins).
- Gum disease or poor oral hygiene.
- Sinus infections and colds.
- Pregnancy: first trimester.
- Chemotherapy.
- Kidney disease, liver disease or diabetes.
Home care
Brush teeth and tongue, rinse with salt water, chew sugar-free gum and drink water.
Duration
Usually resolves when the cause clears.
See a doctor if
It lasts more than a couple of weeks, or comes with other symptoms.
Note
Taste changes were also reported with COVID-19.
What a metallic taste is
A metallic taste, medically called dysgeusia, is a persistent taste of coins, iron or foil in the mouth when nothing is there. Taste depends on taste buds, saliva, the nerves for taste and smell, and the brain. Smell supplies most of what we call flavor, so problems with the nose often change taste.
Common causes
- Poor oral hygiene, gum disease and dental infection, where bleeding gums add iron to saliva.
- Colds, sinus infections and COVID-19, which affect smell and taste. Taste changes were reported by about half of COVID patients in early studies.
- Medications, including antibiotics such as clarithromycin and metronidazole, metformin, lithium, some blood pressure drugs and chemotherapy.
- Vitamins and minerals, such as zinc, iron, copper and calcium supplements and multivitamins.
- Pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, due to hormone changes.
- Acid reflux, which brings stomach acid into the mouth.
- Dry mouth from medicines, Sjogren’s syndrome or dehydration.
- Kidney or liver disease, diabetes, and nervous system conditions.
- Exposure to lead, mercury or other metals.
Duration
Taste from a cold or medicine usually fades in days to a few weeks after the cause is gone. Persistent symptoms lasting more than 2 weeks should be assessed.
Home care
- Brush your teeth, tongue and gums twice a day, and floss daily.
- Rinse with a salt and baking soda solution (one quarter teaspoon of each in a cup of warm water).
- Chew sugar free gum or suck on lemon drops to stimulate saliva, if there is no acid reflux.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Use plastic utensils to reduce metal contact and try cold foods, marinades, herbs and spices.
- Avoid smoking, which dulls taste.
See a doctor if
The taste lasts over 2 weeks, appears with other symptoms such as dizziness, weight loss, confusion or tingling, comes after starting a medicine, or could be linked to metal exposure. A doctor or dentist may check teeth and gums, ask about drugs, and order blood tests.
Note
Do not stop prescribed medicines without talking to a doctor. If a medicine causes the taste, there may be an alternative.
Dysgeusia causes in detail
Metallic taste (dysgeusia) can come from medicines such as metronidazole, lithium, ACE inhibitors, antibiotics (clarithromycin) and chemotherapy. Zinc lozenges and multivitamins with iron, copper or zinc can leave a metallic taste. Gum disease, dry mouth, acid reflux and sinus infections change taste. Pregnancy in the first trimester commonly brings metallic taste because of hormones. COVID-19 altered taste in many patients. Rare causes include kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes and nerve problems. Brushing the tongue, sugar-free gum, citrus and plastic utensils instead of metal help while a cause is found.
Based on data from the American Academy of Otolaryngology and the Mayo Clinic
