COVID Loss of smell and taste can have a ‘profound impact on quality of life’

Scientists in olfactory and epidemiological research are scrambling to find out if one of the most common and psychologically devastating symptoms of COVID-19 – loss of taste and smell – could be permanent, according to a report published in The New York Times According to the report, while most patients who lose their sense of smell and taste after falling ill with COVID-19 recover after they recover, often within weeks, in a minority of patients, the loss persists. As coronavirus cases worldwide reach 85 million, the report features experts who fear the pandemic will leave large numbers of people with permanent loss of smell and taste. Sandeep Robert Datta, associate professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, told the NOW that “If you think about the number of people around the world with COVID, even though only 10% have more prolonged odor loss, we are potentially talking about millions of people.” Datta explained that losing your sense of smell – which is closely related to the sense of taste – can also have a profound impact on mood and quality of life. “You see it as an aesthetic bonus,” Dr Datta said. “But when someone is denied their sense of smell, it changes their perception of the environment and their place in the environment. People’s sense of well-being decreases. It can be really shocking and confusing. Besides the potential immediate loss of the senses of smell and taste, patients have also reported symptoms of drastic changes in their flavor perceptions and overall appetite, raising fears of nutritional deficiencies. .

According to NOW report, some COVID-19 survivors are plagued by phantom smells that are unpleasant and often noxious, such as smells of burnt plastic, ammonia, or feces, a distortion called parosmia. Dolores Malaspina, professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, genetics and genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, told the NOW that a loss of smell is a risk factor for anxiety and depression, and that olfactory dysfunction often precedes social deficits in schizophrenia, and social withdrawal even in healthy individuals. oils or sachets with a variety of smells (such as lavender, eucalyptus, cinnamon, and chocolate) several times a day for the purpose of rekindling the sense of smell, might be moderately helpful in people with scent functioning inferior and in people with parosmia, however, the small study sample size, short observation period, and (for the time being) non-peer reviewed status mean that while it may sound promising, it is still too early for scientists to tout it as such. international researchers, including one from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have found that with partial or complete loss of the senses of taste and smell, patients’ sense of touch may also be diminished during the course. of the disease, although it is not yet known whether this symptom could also be permanent.Last month, a research team in Barcelona found that in addition to loss of sense, many coronavirus patients are said to have suffered severe nasal irritation and dryness in conjunction with the onset of their sensory loss, which lasted for about 12 days.