Dr. Aoyama has to prescribe a syrupy medication for one of her elderly patients. She has two choices: one that smells bad but tastes good or one that smells good but tastes bad. Since her patient is 75 years old, and assuming she wants to prescribe the medicine that is most tolerable, which medicine should she prescribe?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

As people age, their sense of smell and to a lesser extent, taste, deteriorates. This means that while the medication may have a bad smell, the patient may not be able to detect it as strongly as a younger person would. Therefore, prescribing the medication that tastes good would be more important for the patient's overall tolerability of the medication.

Dr Aoyama Has to Prescribe a Syrupy Medication for One