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janette Asked..

How do I help My 94-year-old aunt taste food and eat on her own again?

She was living alone until 2 months ago, doing very well. We did her floors, thorough cleaning and yard work but she did the rest. Then she slipped and bumped her hip. All they saw on the x-ray was a raised spot on the pelvis, she was having pain. So she went to a nursing home to get therapy and then was coming to live with us. They let her get a bed sore above her tail bone the size of a mango. She has always been very skinny so this caused her alot of pain and hampered her movement. We got her to a hospital for 3 days and got it starting to mend. Once home with visiting nurses, then a wound-vac (a miracle of a machine) and Arginade (wound healing drink) her healing is amazing. She was off pain meds the 2nd day home, only having a breathing treatment twice a day nopw, no other meds. Now she doesn't want to eat. her "tasters" don't work, she says. She drinks Ensure but only in any helpful amount if I hold it up to her mouth, (3 a day, most have protien powder, honey, and extra flavor added) . She will eat a bit when I get her up for meals because she knows she has to. Her mind is all there, she is quite fun to visit with. Our goal is to get her to eat on her own again. She would eat good with us when we cooked for her before in her home. She isn't even happy with her coffee and cookies. Not able to go home and now not taste food she is getting more quiet, depressed.

Dec 23, 2009
 
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Answers (1 to 5 of 8)

AlzCaregiver said
Dec 23, 2009

This being the holiday season, I hit upon a taste enhancement when I ordered mom a Peppermint Mocha. Now I either throw a chunk of candy cane into her mocha or hot chocolate...or a few drops of Mint Extract. This seems to excite her taste buds. Junior Mints are a good bribe or reward.

janette said
Dec 23, 2009

Great idea, I'll try this. I am finding that what she used to like has changed, maybe she's ready for new, like mint.

mariannette said
Dec 30, 2009

As we age there is a decline in our ability to taste and smell. Your aunt's advanced age may be playing a part in her inability to taste.

Inhaler medications may also distort the ability to appreciate tastes and smells. (You might check with her physician about this possibility.)

Depression may also play a part in causing food to seem tasteless. But at 94, having medical problems and being away from home and comfortable routines, who wouldn't be a bit depressed?

Your efforts to enhance the flavors of her foods and keep a cheerful attitude may be the best things you can do at this stage of her life.

janette said
Jan 1, 2010

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I will keep up a positive attitude. We are waiting to hear from her dr. about her meds to see if that will help. She will eat a good breakfast, and drink anything I put to her lips. She is being kind to me I know. She is also wise and clear thinking and knows she needs the nurishment to heal as much as her body will. Thanks for all the support.

beckylyn said
Feb 1, 2010

I don't know if you are still interested or in need of any more advice but, as a former Hospice nurse I had a lot of different issues with my patients and food. I found that a frequent 'tool' that helped quite a few of my patients (especially with taste issues) was called magic mouthwash. It consisted of equal parts Maalox, lidocaine and benadryl. It especially helped take away the metal taste for many of my patients after chemo and radiation side effects.

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