Taste from COVID-19, who is most likely to lose the sense of smell

Estimate How common is taste and smell loss after a coronavirus infection is very different.

one study It was found that 69% of people had changes in taste and smell immediately after infection with coronavirus, and 14% had changes after 3 months.

another study Only 17 percent of those who tested positive for COVID-19 reported changes in their sense of smell and taste. However, this increased to 26% among people with COVID-19 symptoms lasting more than 4 weeks.

To better understand the true proportion of these types of symptoms Mackenzie HanamPhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, and her colleagues reviewed 241 previous studies investigating taste loss after coronavirus infection.

They focused on this symptom. “There is a general notion that taste loss is not as’real’as smell loss,” Hannum and co-authors wrote in a paper published in the journal on February 16. Chemical sensation..

“Most of the focus was on the loss of odor, and often the question about the symptoms of COVID-19 was about’loss of smell and taste’,” Hanam told Healthline. “But these are two completely different sensations and should be treated as separate symptoms.”

In their study, she and her colleagues used a statistical method to combine results from a previous study, known as a meta-analysis.

Based on this, they estimated that 37% of people had some form of taste loss after being infected with the coronavirus.

This is consistent with what was seen in the two previous meta-analyses. 38 percent To 49 percent Of people after coronavirus infection.

These two early meta-analyses also found that sensory loss occurred in 41% and 61% of people, respectively.

Hanam and her colleagues have found that men are slightly less likely to lose their taste sensations than women.

“Women are generally more sensitive than men and have a higher sensory ability to lose, so they may be more susceptible to taste loss,” the researchers wrote in a paper.

Taste loss was more common in people aged 36 to 50 years compared to younger and older people. A study examined by Hanam and her colleagues included only people between the ages of 18 and 65.

“It is currently unknown why the youngest and oldest groups report less taste loss than middle-aged adults,” they write.

However, this does not give you a clear idea of ​​who is at greatest risk for these symptoms.

“We did a little research on the effects of age and gender to see if they affect taste loss,” Hanam told Healthline. “But there are no dramatic results that suggest that certain people may be at greater risk.”

Some scientists are trying to fill this gap by investigating the mechanisms involved in taste and smell loss after coronavirus infection.

One study Possible genetic links.. Researchers have identified two genes that may be involved in these symptoms. Both genes are involved in the metabolism of odor molecules in the nasal passages.

another studyInflammation, made in hamsters, suggests that it may be behind the loss of odor in people who had COVID-19.

These researchers are also different Preprint Study that the same mechanism may be involved in the development of long-range COVID-19 or long-range COVID.

However, so far, researchers have not been able to identify who is at greatest risk of losing their sense of smell or taste after being infected with the coronavirus.

Shames said there are currently no medicines that can help people who have lost their sense of taste or smell after being infected with the coronavirus.

However, some studies have shown that retraining of the sense of smell can improve the sense of smell in many patients, he said.

He said this could be done with a set of essential oils. Alternatively, you can create a scent kit using food, herbs, soaps, scented candles, plants and other strong scented items.

For home olfactory retraining, Schamess recommends:

• Week 1: Choose 3-4 scents (cloves, citrus, chocolate, coffee, etc.) and inhale deeply the scents 2-3 times a day for 5-10 minutes at a time.
• Week 2: Choose 3-4 new scents (eucalyptus, lavender, mint, etc.) and do the same.
• Weeks 3 and 4: Repeat with a new scent every week.

“This may help” jump start “to restore the sense of smell,” Schamess said.