Is a Metallic Taste an Early Sign of Pregnancy?
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Is a Metallic Taste an Early Sign of Pregnancy?

When you’re trying to get pregnant, you may be anxiously looking for any sign of pregnancy during the two-week wait–that time between when you ovulated and when you’ll get a positive pregnancy test. Since metallic taste is a common complaint during pregnancy, you may wonder if it’s one of the early signs.

Causes in Pregnancy

When you’re pregnant, you have a surge of hormones, especially estrogen and progesterone. Though doctors don’t quite understand why, they believe that a metallic taste in the mouth is caused by estrogen, which causes dysgeusia, or a sensitivity and change of taste in your mouth. In many women, this taste presents itself as a metallic taste.

Time Frame

A metallic taste in the mouth typically starts during the first trimester. In some women, it will subside during the second trimester, when hormonal activity tends to balance out. In other women, it could last the entire pregnancy. However, your estrogen levels may not be high enough for a metallic taste in your mouth to be an early sign of pregnancy. It would typically manifest after you’ve already received a positive pregnancy test, though every pregnancy is different.

Solutions

You can resolve the type of metallic taste in your mouth caused by pregnancy by eating citrus foods, which counteracts the taste. Acidic foods, like pickles, may also help. If changing your eating doesn’t change the taste, the metallic taste may be due to other causes.

Considerations

Pregnancy is not the only cause of a metallic taste in your mouth. The taste could also be due to food poisoning from certain types of fish, like sardines or herring. It’s also a symptom of an allergy to insects like ants or bees, or it could be lead poisoning.

Misconceptions

You may experience some cramping or slight bleeding early in your pregnancy, but most of the typical early signs of pregnancy–nausea, tiredness and metallic taste–will only occur after you’re likely to have gotten a positive result on a pregnancy test.

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