# Could sodium hydroxide permanently destroy human tastebuds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691 "2017-03-21T15:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/21 "2017-03-22T16:31:31Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The best thing about this thread, and it required explanation. > > Baby Jesus is crying.☹ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/22 "2017-03-22T18:33:36Z")
That’s one of the craziest things I’ve read on this board, and it’s saying something :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/23 "2017-03-22T18:58:13Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > That’s one of the craziest things I’ve read on this board, and it’s saying something :eek: I dunno, it’s kind of a tie between this and the dude who wanted to cut his balls off as a form of birth control. (Although it certainly beats the guy who bleached his teeth with Clorox) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/24 "2017-03-22T21:02:18Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I dunno, it’s kind of a tie between this and the dude who wanted to cut his balls off as a form of birth control. (Although it certainly beats the guy who bleached his teeth with Clorox) We should collect them. I’m looking for the thread I mentioned up above - Someone posted about a friend who had a plan to cure himself of eye floaters by boiling the fluids in his own eyes using bits hacked out of a microwave oven. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/25 "2017-03-23T08:14:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > We should collect them. I’m looking for the thread I mentioned up above - Someone posted about a friend who had a plan to cure himself of eye floaters by boiling the fluids in his own eyes using bits hacked out of a microwave oven. :eek: No freakin’ way! One time I tried one of those zinc-based cold lozenges, and it totally killed my ability to taste sweetness for several hours. It was bizarre – chocolate milk and ice cream and orange juice and candy all tasted horribly bitter and sour. Fortunately the taste returned to normal after a while, but it was very disconcerting. Later I read about how zinc cold treatments (the nasal gel, at least) can cause permanent loss of the sense of smell, so I guess it wasn’t as bad as it might have been… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/26 "2017-03-23T08:18:59Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > :eek: No freakin’ way! Yep, although I think the thread must have been deleted (which if correct may mean that the OP of said thread was not sincere in their description of a friend who earnestly intended to boil his own eyes) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/27 "2017-03-23T08:26:20Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > One time I tried one of those zinc-based cold lozenges, and it totally killed my ability to taste sweetness for several hours. It was bizarre – chocolate milk and ice cream and orange juice and candy all tasted horribly bitter and sour. Fortunately the taste returned to normal after a while, but it was very disconcerting. Later I read about how zinc cold treatments (the nasal gel, at least) can cause permanent loss of the sense of smell, so I guess it wasn’t as bad as it might have been… I lost some sensations of taste after a bit of dental work once (one of those sessions where the pain was so bad that the dentist had to keep pumping in more anaesthetic - I guess nerves are nerves - and so it must have hit the nerves connecting my tongue to my brain. I only lost some of the basic taste sensations - I can’t recall the exact details, but I think it was diminished ability to taste salt for a week or so. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/28 "2017-03-23T08:53:11Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > What really intrigued me though was my male ‘friend’, Nigel who let say is quite smart but maybe lacks in common sense… He has an extreme dislike for his sweet tooth which he says causes his already weak enamel from low calcium levels to erode even further, so he told me that 4 weeks ago he was in the process of ridding his taste-buds. This falls under one of those, “don’t try this at home” situations. Your friend needs out-patient counseling. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/29 "2017-03-25T03:10:04Z")
I think your friend would also need to pack his nasal passages with drano, and also remove the roof of his mouth, taste is complicated:D I kid, do not suggest that to him because i think he might be willing to try it ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/30 "2017-03-25T04:00:40Z")
You seem to view this as a bit of an eccentricity, it’s not, it’s delusional and psychotic self harming behavior. Your “smart” buddy needs a mental evaluation ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/31 "2017-03-25T04:04:27Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yep, although I think the thread must have been deleted (which if correct may mean that the OP of said thread was not sincere in their description of a friend who earnestly intended to boil his own eyes) It might still be available, if you do a google search and there’s a cached version. (I hate it when the mods delete the wacko threads like that. I imagine if JTT was around today, his threads would all have been disappeared.) ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691/32 "2017-03-28T20:59:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > … (Although it certainly beats the guy who bleached his teeth with Clorox) WOW! How did I miss the [Clorox guy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=709139) Weird too, because my estranged father tried the same thing and I thought who the hell would be crazy enough to try this! Apparently, he’s not alone, and yes, he is actually crazy among other things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sodium-hydroxide-permanently-destroy-human-tastebuds/782691.md?page=1)