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A metallic taste in the mouth is a sign of disease

Medical expert of the article

Abdominal surgeon
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025

The main symptom is the metallic taste in the mouth. It can vary in intensity - from mild, barely noticeable to sharp, suffocating. There may also be a sore throat, burning in the nasopharynx, mucous membranes, a feeling of dryness, and even pain in the nose and throat. Signs of conjunctivitis and eye damage may appear.

Nausea and metallic taste in the mouth

Usually nausea combined with a metallic taste in the mouth is one of the signs of poisoning. Nausea indicates that a dyspeptic syndrome is developing, signs of acute abdomen are appearing. A metallic taste indicates that the poison has already entered the blood. If the taste increases, this means that the poison continues to be absorbed into the blood. It is necessary to urgently provide the person with emergency assistance, stop further penetration of the poison into the body and take measures to remove the toxin that has already entered the body.

An ambulance must be called immediately, since acute abdomen is a syndrome that is related to surgical pathologies and requires immediate surgical intervention. When calling, you must inform the doctor that poisoning has occurred, try to describe in as much detail as possible the sensations and preceding events during which it happened. Hospitalization is required, surgery may be required, since there is a risk of developing peritonitis, which affects the entire abdominal cavity, infectious and toxic damage to internal organs develops, up to sepsis and death. If the diagnosis of acute abdomen is confirmed, surgery is needed urgently. If emergency surgical care is not provided in the first 2-3 hours, death occurs. If the diagnosis is not confirmed, it is enough to wash the stomach until the water is clear, drink a sorbent, which will remove the poison from the body. Then it is necessary to carry out further detoxification treatment.

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Metallic taste in mouth after eating

In some cases, a metallic taste in the mouth may appear immediately after eating. First, you need to make sure that the food you ate was of good quality. A similar picture can be observed when eating poor-quality food, canned fish. A characteristic taste can appear with pancreatitis, cholecystitis, gastritis, intestinal disorders and some liver diseases. Alcohol intoxication, botulism, food poisoning, and toxic infections can have similar symptoms. Some cases of food allergies and increased sensitization of the body can also be attributed here.

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Metallic taste in mouth in the morning

This may be one of the signs of dysbacteriosis, a disorder of the microbiocenosis of the oral cavity, intestines. The entry of E. coli into biotopes uncharacteristic for it, for example, into the oral cavity, respiratory tract, can lead to the appearance of a metallic taste in the mouth in the morning. A similar picture develops against the background of a viral infection, colds, poisoning, or after drinking alcohol, some medications.

Sour metallic taste in mouth

A sour metallic taste in the mouth may indicate poisoning with heavy metal salts. Chlorine has a similar effect on the body. If you feel this, you need to drink a sorbent. The sooner you do this, the better. Activated carbon, white carbon - sorbex - helps well. If there are no other signs, this will be enough to neutralize the poison and gradually remove it. If there are accompanying symptoms, for example, fever, general deterioration in health, nausea, headache, you need to call a doctor, or even better, an ambulance. Try to remember the previous day in as much detail as possible: what you ate, what you inhaled, where you were. Analyze whether you could have been poisoned. Severe poisoning is indicated by dizziness, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, lack of air.

Bitterness in the mouth and metallic taste

Usually, the appearance of bitterness and metallic taste in the mouth indicates poisoning with chemicals. Sometimes this can be a sign of cholelithiasis, liver damage, gallbladder diseases. Bitterness can occur with bile stagnation, dysfunction of the bile ducts. It is possible to distinguish poisoning from the listed diseases by specific signs indicating poisoning. Thus, characteristic features of poisoning are vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, general weakness, decreased activity, appetite. Against the background of poisoning, a person usually sweats more, the heartbeat quickens, the body is covered in cold sweat.

If measures are not taken in a timely manner, if emergency aid is not provided to the person, other symptoms appear - pupils dilate, coordination of movements is impaired. Choking may develop, especially if there is a history of allergic reactions. If no aid is provided, the symptoms gradually increase, intensify, and everything can end in death. In case of pancreatic diseases, digestive disorders, a consultation with a gastroenterologist is required.

If a metallic taste appears in the mouth when coughing, this may indicate the development of tuberculosis, or pulmonary hemorrhage, hemoptysis.

Dry mouth and metallic taste

If dry mouth and metallic taste are the only symptoms a person feels, this may indicate dental diseases, gingivitis, stomatitis. It may also be a sign of common dehydration or a severe allergic reaction, in which the level of secretory immunoglobulin A and E, which are synthesized by the mucous membranes, increases significantly. But if these symptoms are accompanied by other signs, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, loss of consciousness, diarrhea, poisoning can be assumed. In the future, if emergency assistance is not provided, the condition will worsen.

Almost always, a burning sensation in the mouth and a metallic taste indicate poisoning by chemicals that have entered through the oral cavity. That is, it can be assumed that a chemical burn of the mucous membranes, oral cavity, esophagus has occurred. Sometimes the surrounding tissues and respiratory tract are also involved in the pathological process.

Headache and metallic taste in mouth

If you have a headache and a metallic taste in your mouth, you need to take a painkiller or a drug that normalizes cerebral circulation. For example, you can try drugs such as no-shpa, analgin, spazmalgon, pyrocetam, spazmolgon. If this is a typical circulatory disorder, overwork, a pill will help. Otherwise, you can assume poisoning or hypoxia, which develops as a result of chronic oxygen deficiency, excess carbon dioxide, physical inactivity, stress, overwork. In any case, it is impossible to say for sure what exactly caused such symptoms, so you need to see a doctor and undergo a comprehensive examination.

Dizziness and metallic taste in the mouth

A typical sign of poisoning, which almost always develops when inhaling toxic vapors through the respiratory tract. The person needs to be taken out into the fresh air, or open all windows and doors to ensure maximum air flow. You also need to unbutton tight clothing and free your throat. Drinking plenty of fluids is recommended. It is worth drinking milk or any other drink with astringent properties. You should call an ambulance and provide the patient with rest. If the condition worsens and nausea occurs, induce vomiting. If the victim loses consciousness, give him ammonia to smell.

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Metallic taste in the mouth and salivation

Excessive salivation can be a sign of damage to the gastrointestinal tract, exacerbation of gastritis, enteritis, and can also indicate the development of an infectious disease. Diseases such as rabies, poliomyelitis, hepatitis are accompanied by intense salivation. But in combination with a metallic taste in the mouth, it most often indicates either poisoning or a viral disease. Similar symptoms can be observed with poisoning, and even a cold, while taking antibiotics, with hormonal therapy.

If it is poisoning, you need to call an ambulance. Increasing salivation, viscous saliva, the appearance of blood impurities in the saliva may indicate poisoning. Sharp pain in the stomach, profuse vomiting, bleeding appear. If you do not provide assistance at this stage (administer an antidote, wash out the stomach, give sorbents), the person may lose consciousness, his body temperature rises or falls sharply, the pulse slows down, and blood pressure drops. This causes serious complications for the kidneys and liver. As the condition worsens, liver or kidney failure, heart failure, up to multiple organ failure and a comatose state develop. Increased uncontrolled salivation is almost always a negative sign; if assistance is not provided, it ends in death.

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Temperature and metallic taste in the mouth

An increase in temperature itself can be a sign of an infectious disease. Most often, hyperthermia is accompanied by bacterial diseases, less often - viral ones. If the temperature is combined with a metallic taste in the mouth, one can assume the development of an intestinal infection, parasitic invasion, or the development of fungal microflora. Similar symptoms accompany severe candidiasis, mycosis. These can be kidney or liver diseases.

In addition, food poisoning manifests itself in a similar way. In case of poisoning, the pathogenesis is based on the disruption of metabolic processes in the body, which occurs as a result of exposure to toxins that penetrate the body in various ways. The symptoms have approximately similar features for different types of poisoning, regardless of the route of penetration of the virus into the body.

Any poisoning, be it poisoning with chemicals, bacterial or viral toxins, fungal exotoxins, or plant poisons, is accompanied by disturbances in the basic metabolic processes at the cellular, tissue, and organismic levels. Temperature is a sign of the systemic effect of poison on the body, which involves immune mechanisms and other factors protecting the body, and an inflammatory or reparative process develops. A metallic taste in the mouth is often a sign of damage to the liver, pancreas, and digestive disorders. In case of poisoning, first of all, digestive processes are disrupted, increased irritation and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract develop, and damage to the mucous membranes develops.

If emergency aid is not provided to a person in a timely manner, dehydration will develop (a large amount of water is removed from cells, tissues, and the body as a whole, and the cells and, subsequently, tissues are destroyed). This may result in the death of the organism.

Metallic taste in the mouth and angular cheilitis

Angular cheilitis usually develops against the background of metabolic disorders, both at the cellular and tissue levels. This may be a sign of infection, including bacterial and viral. This is often the case with the papilloma virus, herpes viruses, cytomegaloviruses, and Zoster. A characteristic feature is that angular cheilitis combined with a metallic taste in the mouth may indicate a viral disease of the liver or kidneys.

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Metallic taste in mouth after drinking alcohol

The appearance of a metallic taste in the mouth after drinking alcohol may be associated with poisoning. This often happens after excessive alcohol consumption, or against the background of poisoning with a low-quality product, substitutes, which include methyl alcohol. This often happens to alcoholics who abuse alcohol, drink for a long time and systematically, and often go on binges.

But often such a picture is observed in those who have not drunk for a long time, or in those who drink rarely. In case of liver and kidney pathology, increased load on these organs, similar symptoms of intoxication are observed. In addition, this may indicate that the liver and kidneys cannot cope with the load and cannot neutralize the poison. In such a case, detoxification therapy is usually required: you should drink a sorbent, for example, sorbex, activated carbon. It is better to consult a doctor. If necessary, he can prescribe hepatoprotectors.

Metallic taste in mouth from crown

If you have recently had a crown installed, then in the first days after visiting the dentist, you may be haunted by a metallic taste in your mouth. There is nothing bad or scary about this. This may simply indicate that the crown is fairly new, was made not so long ago. After all, crowns are often metal. They are often covered with gold plating on top, which creates a characteristic taste. Usually, such sensations pass after a few days. But if they continue to bother you after a week, consult a dentist. Perhaps you have increased sensitivity of the teeth (gums), and the doctor will recommend you a special toothpaste, or spray, rinse. There are many products that can reduce sensitivity and normalize sensations.

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Metallic taste in mouth with hangover

With a hangover, not only a metallic taste, but also any other very unpleasant taste can appear in the mouth. Often, this indicates that the body is undergoing processes of neutralizing the poison, and you feel the by-products of this neutralization in your mouth. It is important to understand that the poison (alcohol), when it enters the body, is subject to breakdown and numerous transformations. There is an enzyme (alcohol dehydrogenase).

Its mechanism of action is aimed at breaking down alcohol that enters the body and converting it into various energy-intensive compounds. It is worth noting that some people have low enzymatic activity of this enzyme. Such a person does not tolerate alcohol well, gets drunk quickly, and does not feel well in the morning. Alcohol in his body is not completely broken down. As a result, instead of energy, intermediate metabolites arise that have a toxic effect on the body, create a load on the kidneys, liver, spleen, and cause digestive disorders. A similar picture is observed if a person has drunk an excessively large amount of alcohol, and alcohol dehydrogenase cannot process such an amount. Then, too, decay products often remain in the body, which leads to the development of intoxication.

The best remedy is taking a sorbent, which will help neutralize and remove excess alcohol and its metabolic products. Sorbex, activated carbon, and Enterosel work well.

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Metallic taste in mouth after poisoning

After poisoning, an unpleasant metallic taste may remain in the mouth for a long time. This is due to the processes that occur in the body under the influence of the toxin. Violation of the functional state of the body manifests itself primarily in the form of disruption of the kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract. The synthesis of enzymes and bile is disrupted. Stagnation develops, the composition, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the microflora are disrupted, digestion processes are disrupted. As a result, an unpleasant taste in the mouth appears. In severe poisoning, the liver ceases to cope with toxic substances that penetrate the blood. Toxins are not excreted, but remain in the body, begin to have a toxic effect on the body as a whole, on the blood. The composition of the blood changes, red blood cells are destroyed, free hemoglobin is excreted. It is this that creates such sensations in the oral cavity, since the basis of hemoglobin is iron.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that poisoning can provoke an allergic reaction of varying severity. As a result, a huge release of biologically active substances, histamine, and various chemical transformations occur in the body. The mucous membranes intensively synthesize proteins, inflammation mediators, immunoglobulins, including A and E. All this can cause various tastes in the mouth.

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A persistent metallic taste in the mouth that doesn't go away

It is impossible to give a clear answer to the question of why a constant, persistent metallic taste in the mouth may bother you, since there may be quite a few reasons. They can act both individually and in combination, creating a single picture of the pathological process. In any case, you need to undergo an examination by a doctor, find out the cause, and only based on this, select the appropriate treatment. Basically, only etiological treatment is effective, that is, aimed at eliminating the cause itself. Otherwise, there will be no result.

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Read also: Metallic taste in the mouth: what does it mean, causes


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