Can it help regain the loss of sensation?

When Jennifer Sopco signed COVID-19 At the end of December, she experienced almost mild symptoms, a little congestion, a little snuff, and a “back and forth” headache. But by the fifth day, she had lost her ability. smell.. On New Year’s Eve, she ordered a takeaway and noticed that her boneless chicken wings weren’t tasting exactly and correctly.

“anytime smell They, you know the buffalo sauce, it was like my sharp, weird sensation. I knew something was happening, “said Pittsburgh’s 38-year-old historian and writer today. “It’s really the weirdest experience. It’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t.”

After a few weeks I think she has a part of herself smell I tasted it, but it’s not something she remembered.

“I don’t think I’m really tasting or smelling food,” she said. “I was eating a glass of chicken noodle soup. I couldn’t taste it, but I found my tongue to be salty.”

It’s not just Sopco. Experts believe that the majority of people with COVID-19 experience “some measurable olfactory dysfunction.”

“COVID is more common than other viral illnesses. Many people often lose their sense of smell and taste,” said Pamela Dalton, a faculty member at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. “But in general, the loss of smell weakens the taste.”

Anyone who has had a bad cold knows that it can affect the smell and taste. But the reason is different. Mucus often interferes with the work of the nose when the sense of smell is lost during a sinus infection or cold.

“Some of the common colds are actually due to stuffy nose,” Dalton explained. “The molecule cannot put it in the nose where the receptor is.”

But what happens with COVID-19 looks different. Experts believe that COVID-19 targets odor-causing neurons.

“Infection and loss of supporting cell function lead to loss of olfactory neurons,” Dr. Claire Hopkins, a professor of nasal science at King’s College London, said in an email today. “Fortunately, they have their own ability to regenerate in the nervous system. Most patients still recover, but it can take months before this happens.”

But for people like Sopko and Avery Brennan (18 years old), being unable to smell is frustrating and upset.

“October. 3, I tested positive. A freshman at the University of Florida at Gainesville said today,” I lost the taste and smell three days later. ” “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like this gang is in your mouth, and when you eat food, everything tastes like that. Everything smells like that. . It tastes a bit bitter. “

Hopkins said this could be a pain, but a positive sign.

“Many people who lose their sense of smell develop parosmia during recovery. This is a distorted sense of smell, often unpleasant or unpleasant. This is because the sensory neurons during recovery are functioning properly. I think it reflects the lack, “she said. “In general, it is a positive predictor of long-term recovery, but it can last for months and can have a significant impact on appetite and quality of life.”

People who have lost their sense of smell can strengthen their senses by trying what is called odor training, which stimulates the senses by smelling. Dalton said that about 12 treatises examining odor training prior to COVID-19 found it to work.

“Smell training is really effective,” she said. “There was a recent study on how to treat olfactory loss after the virus. Of all that they saw … they recommended only odor training.”

Researchers have considered other treatments, including vitamin A, omega 3 supplements, antibiotics, or various steroid treatments, but the results are mixed. Smell training can be easily done at home at an additional cost. Dalton recommends choosing four or five different scents that have different scents but are easily recognizable.

“Before you lose your sense of smell, you need to remember what it smelled like, which is very helpful,” she said. “You can choose your shampoo. You can choose your favorite scent. You can go into the cupboard and pull out some spices.”

Hopkins working with a non-profit organization in the UK AbScentStudies have shown that four scents work well for organizations that support people with olfactory or olfactory deficits.

“(They) cover four major groups of different odors,” she said. “Although other things can be used, coffee is a common trigger for parosmia and may not be ideal.”

Dalton recommends that you smell each scent for 10 seconds, “taking a few deep breaths slowly”, thinking about what you are trying to smell. AbScent recommends doing this twice a day for 4 months. Smell is strongly related to memory, so thinking about the scent of lemon while imagining the scent of lemon enhances the process.

“Smell and memory are very closely related in the cortex, the part of the brain that handles emotions and memory. In fact, they are physically connected to the major olfactory processing areas,” she said. It was. “The phenomenon of smelling something and feeling like you’re back on a journey over time is a very common experience.”

Hopkins agrees. “Smell can evoke really strong memories,” she said. “One of the biggest losses reported by some of my COVID patients is the inability to smell newborn babies.”

Brennan can smell the perfume she has been wearing for years. But that may be because she has a very strong memory of it.

“I wore it every day,” she said. “I don’t know if it was because I wore it consistently, but for some reason, that’s all it smells.”

People suffer from being unable to smell, or just smelling and tasting something dirty or metallic, but there is hope. Experts believe that people can regain their scent, it may just take some time.

“It can be really difficult for patients, as losing the sense of smell has a significant effect that can be difficult to understand,” Hopkins said.