People taking the anti-viral medication Paxlovid for COVID-19 are reporting an awful, metallic taste that just won't go away. Patients have nicknamed the side effect "Paxlovid Mouth."
"It doesn't matter how much you brush your teeth, how much you eat, how much you drink, it's going to be there," India Palencia said.
Paxlovid is made up of three pills in a package. Ten doses are taken over the course of five days. It's supposed to reduce COVID-19 symptoms for those most vulnerable to hospitalization.
While Palencia reports it worked for her, she said one side effect almost made her stop taking the medication.
"As soon as I took it, maybe 15 minutes later, I was like, it's really metallic tasting," she said. She and her husband both experienced it.
In the medical world, the side effect is called dysgeusia.
"The whole time it's like in the back of your mouth, no matter what you drink, no matter what you eat, it's metallic," Palencia said. "I thought, well, maybe if I drink like some hot tea, maybe like the heat, like the. No, that didn't do anything. We even ordered like Indian food. Thinking like the strong flavors. Maybe now. Nothing. Nothing would take any of that metallic taste like everything."
The Palencias aren't part of a small group to experience this metal mouth taste. Clinical trials showed at least 5% of patients on Paxlovid had this happen.
Dr. Todd Winslow, medical director at Florida Gulf Coast University's Student Health Services, said the number of people experiencing this is likely higher than that.
"People describe it differently, but it can occur even with the first dose, whenever you take it. As you progress into the pack, it may get a little worse, but it tends to plateau out," he said.
Winslow said experts really don't know for sure what causes the reaction, but noted it's well-documented.
"It isn't associated with anything in particular as far as underlying conditions or anything like that. It isn't associated with severity of disease that we know of. It just affects some people more than others, and whenever it does occur, it's, it's unpleasant, to say the least," Winslow said.
Some literature suggests taking a Zinc supplement or using mints to distract yourself from the taste. Winslow said it is important to power through and finish the five-day treatment, which is exactly what Palencia and her husband did.
"Was it irritating? Definitely, absolutely. But it was worth it because we really needed to be back on our feet. We just have busy lives, and we can't can't afford to not be available," she said.