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Loss of smell is one of the hallmarks of coronavirus infection. After two years of the pandemic, we already know that the lack of the sense of smell can be a nuisance long after recovery. The consequence can be weight loss and even depression. However, it is possible to regain the sense of smell.
- Problems with the sense of smell and taste persist in convalescents long after COVID-19 is cured
- Although about 90 percent. The infected sense of smell returns, the remaining people struggle with the impairment of this sense chronically
- Meat and fruit tasted of rot, and the smell and taste of coffee or chocolate were simply rejected – says Agnieszka, who is a healer
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Agnieszka fell ill with COVID-19 in 2021. One of the first symptoms that worried her was the loss of smell and taste.
– I didn’t smell anything, the food tasted like paper. I had no appetite, I felt bad. Huge distortions of the senses appeared. Until now, I liked onions, in the kitchen I used a lot of garlic, leek and chives. But they became downright disgusting. They smelled, as did creams, perfumes, deodorants, washing powders and liquids. Meat and fruit tasted of rot, and the smell and taste of coffee or chocolate were simply rejected – says the 44-year-old.
And she confesses that the upcoming Easter is stressful for her. – How would I cook Christmas dishes? – he is worried.
No sense of smell with COVID-19. More often than a cough or a fever
Unfortunately, Agnieszka is not alone in her fears, because volpost-COVID-19 Poles struggle with a similar problem.
- Have you been infected with COVID-19 and are worried about the side effects? Check your health by completing a comprehensive research package for convalescents
Smell disorders after infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus are a consequence of infection with the so-called helper cells whose job is to support the sensory neurons. These cells carry information about odors from the nasal cavity to the olfactory bulb. Without their support, neurons cannot perform their functions properly, hence the loss of smell. This is a typical symptom of the coronavirus – confirms the WHO. This unpleasant ailment is even more common than cough or fever.
Further part below the video.
Healers, but no smell
Problems with the sense of smell and taste may persist for convalescents for a long time. Prof. Jay Piccirillo, an otolaryngologist at Washington University Physicians, showed through his own research that while in about 90 percent people’s sense of smell returns, others struggle with handicap chronically.
This is also confirmed by scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. The Americans concluded that the loss of smell and taste depends, among other things, on age and gender: people between 36 and 50 years of age, especially women, experienced it most often.
But loss of sense of smell can also be a symptom of other health problems: when we take chemotherapy, we struggle with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, inflammatory and vascular disease of the brain, or after a stroke.
Olfactory hallucinations due to COVID-19
Problems with the sense of smell and taste come in various forms: from slight disturbances, through partial to complete loss of it.
In medicine, there are different types of anomalies related to the sense of smell. It is an anosmia that manifests itself in a complete lack of olfactory sensations.
When we feel a reduced ability to sense smells that seem so little intense that it is impossible to recognize them and determine their sources, then we are dealing with hyposmia.
Parosmia, in turn, also known as cakosmia, is the feeling of “abnormal” olfactory sensations. They are called olfactory hallucinations when, instead of the actual smell, we smell gasoline, burning or rotten meat.
Hyperosmia, on the other hand, is an olfactory hypersensitivity, which is sometimes a symptom of depression somatization. Somatization is the result of experiencing difficult emotions when the body activates a defense mechanism in the form of symptoms that cannot be explained.
Not only a loss of appetite
Every olfactory disorder has serious consequences. These are loss of appetite, weight loss, and a depressed mood.
A study from the University of Virginia’s Taste and Smell Disorders Center found that people after coronavirus and loss of smell are accompanied by depression, discomfort due to the lack of control over the smell of their own body, and the inability to sense their favorite smells.
There is another important point: the sense of smell helps to recognize many dangers: it protects against ingestion of poison, allows you to smell smoke, spoiled food, burning, escaping gas.
Recover the lost sense of smell after COVID-19
– I exercise regularly to regain my sense of smell. My training is smelling intense essential oils: clove, eucalyptus, lemon and rose. I do it several times a day – says Agnieszka hopefully. He explains that each of them breathes in 30 seconds.
– During these sessions I am focused as much as possible – he emphasizes.
The positive effect of the treatments that Agnieszka performs has been confirmed by scientific research.
– The most important thing is that exercise helps. I hope to regain my sense of smell by Easter. And that I will be able to fully enjoy the Christmas flavors – he adds at the end.
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