Dr. Avery 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?
A) the one that smells bad
B) the one that tastes bad
C) either one, because the elderly have little or no sense of taste or smell
D) for a male patient, the one that tastes bad; for a female patient, the one that smells bad

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

As people age, their sense of smell tends to weaken more than their sense of taste. This means that while the bad smell may be unpleasant, the patient may not be able to fully detect it or be as bothered by it as they would be by a bad taste. Therefore, prescribing the medication that smells bad but tastes good would be more tolerable for the elderly patient.

Dr Avery Has to Prescribe a Syrupy Medication for One