COVID loss of odor, taste can have a profound effect on quality of life

Scientists in the field of odor and epidemiological research are scrambling to find out if one of the most common and psychologically devastating symptoms of COVID-19 – the loss of taste and smell – could possibly 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 becoming ill with COVID-19, they recover after recovering, within a few weeks, in a minority of patients. As the global coronavirus cases cover 85 million, the experts include experts who fear that the pandemic could leave a large number of people with a permanent loss of smell and taste. Sandeep Robert Datta, associate professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, said NEW that “If you think about the number of people with COVID worldwide, even if only 10% have a prolonged odor loss, then we are talking about potentially millions of people.” Datta explained that losing one’s sense of smell – which is closely related to the sense of taste – can also have a profound effect on mood and quality of life. “You see it as an aesthetic bonus feeling,” said dr. Datta said. ‘But when someone is denied his sense of smell, it changes the way they perceive the environment and their place in the environment. People’s sense of well-being is declining. It can be really shocking and upsetting. In addition to the possible immediate loss of senses of smell, patients also reported symptoms of drastic changes in their perception of odors and their overall appetite, which led to fear of nutritional deficiencies. .

According to the NEW reported, some COVID-19 survivors are tormented by ghostly odors that are unpleasant and often harmful, such as the smells of burning plastic, ammonia or feces, a distortion called parosmia. Dr. Dolores Malaspina, a professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, genetics and genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine on Mount Sinai in New York, told the NEW that an odor loss is a risk factor for anxiety and depression, and that odor dysfunction often precedes social deficits in schizophrenia, and social withdrawal even in healthy individuals. A recent study among 153 patients in Germany found that ‘odor training’ – essentially sniffing oils or bags with a variety of odors (such as lavender, eucalyptus, cinnamon and chocolate) several times a day in an effort to reduce the sense of smell to relieve, may be moderately useful for those with lower olfactory function and for parosmia. However, the small sample size, the short observation period and the (not yet) peer-reviewed status of the study mean that, although it may look promising, it is still too initial for scientists to indicate it as such. international researchers, including one from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have found that, along with the partial or total loss of the sense of taste and smell, it can also reduce the sensation of patients during its course. although it is not yet known whether this symptom may also be permanent. Last month, a research team in Barcelona found that, in addition to the loss of senses, many coronavirus patients apparently experience severe nasal irritation and dryness in conjunction with the onset of their sensory loss, which lasted about 12 days.