ABSTRACT
Method The patient is asked to blow their nose. Under direct vision, using small forceps (Figure 7.1), a quarter tablet of saccharin is placed on the medial border of the inferior turbinate about 1 cm back from the anterior edge. The patient is asked to sit quietly without sneezing, sniffing, snorting, eating or drinking. They should swallow approximately once a minute and report as soon as any taste is experienced. The nature of the taste is not specified so that the patient can be asked about the quality of the sensation when reporting. A possible variation is to employ saccharin which has been dyed with Evans blue, so that this can be looked for in the nasopharynx.
