Have you lost your sense of smell? It may not be a coronavirus.

Do all your bagels suddenly smell like nothing? Does your shower gel have a coconut scent? Growing reports suggest that loss of smell, a condition known as anosmia, is a symptom of COVID-19. But scientists are still unclear.

U.S. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, citing a surge of anecdotal evidence from around the world Recently proposed The use of anonymia and related olfactory disturbances to screen for new coronavirus cases. According to the Academy, an increasing number of people report positive illness tests but no significant symptoms. The exception is mystical loss and decreased sense of smell.

Other experts in the medical community have rebounded saying the coronavirus connection is not secure. To date, neither the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the World Health Organization has added anesthesia to the list of COVID-19 symptoms. They say that mere loss of smell, if any, is not enough to be convinced that you have a coronavirus.

“Using COVID-19 may result in less odor loss than with other upper respiratory infections,” he says. Stephen Munger, Director of the Olfactory and Taste Center at Gainesville, University of Florida.

Up to 40% People with other viral infections, such as the flu and colds, temporarily disappear and usually return in a few weeks. It is also common in people with allergies. Prolonged olfactory disturbance, This affects 3-20% It is more common in the elderly but may be caused by severe head trauma, neurodegenerative disease, or nasal polyps that block airflow and must be removed surgically.

“Why is the smell so hot?” Manger asks. “People are scared and we are trying to understand the disease. We are trying to reach out to recognize COVID-19 as soon as possible.”

One pitfall of early evidence of olfactory loss is that it relies on case reports rather than the long-term observations needed to establish a clear relationship with COVID-19. In addition, people generally struggle to characterize their problems with odor and taste, as the two are so intertwined.

“They may say they have taste loss when they have odor loss, or they don’t understand how much loss they have,” Manger said. say. You can shoot strong flavors such as vinegar, salt, and sugar to see if the taste buds are still working.

For example, UK study released last week collected COVID-19 symptom data From patients through online apps. According to the data, nearly 60% of the 579 users who reported positive for coronavirus said they had lost their sense of smell and taste. However, a significant proportion (18% of 1,123) of patients who tested negative for the virus also reported olfactory and taste problems.

Another challenge is to try to understand what loss of smell is a predictor of disease severity, given that classic symptoms such as fever and cough are clear indicators of body suffering That is. In the next study of European Archives of Otolaryngology85% of patients who experienced mild to moderate cases Reported loss of ability to smell. This supports other early evidence that odor loss may occur in patients with little or no symptoms Eric Holbrook, Director of Eye and Ear Rhinology, Massachusetts. However, he adds, the study is limited because the study focuses only on those mild cases. It is not known if odor loss is associated with more severe COVID-19 results.

“Doctors are collecting data very quickly, but many are subjective,” Holbrook said. “I have not seen any careful studies examining when patients are diagnosed, how severe it is, and how long the odor loss persists.”

To better understand how olfactory loss manifests in COVID-19 patients, Holbrook and his colleagues conduct tests at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston to test both coronavirus detection and patient olfactory ability Was suggested. Patients who report olfactory symptoms and whose olfaction does not recover after recovery from coronavirus will be followed over the next few months to gather valuable information about the persistence of the connection.

Fortunately, the loss of a smell caused by an infection does not necessarily mean that it will be gone forever. The virus is thought to cause inflammation of sensory neurons in the nose, disrupting the ability of nerve cells to transmit odor information to the brain. But unlike the eyes and ears, damaged nerve cells in the olfactory bulb can regenerate throughout our lives.

“That’s why if you lose your sense of smell, you can get it back,” Holbrook said. “But I don’t know how long it will take to replace a neuron. It can take a year or two.”

Because COVID-19 is so new, researchers do not know exactly when patients who report anesthesia may be able to regain their sense of smell.

To speed recovery, some doctors offer a treatment called “olfactory training” to increase olfactory sensitivity and help the brain process signals correctly. The patient inhales four odors, such as clove, eucalyptus, lemon, and rose, twice a day for 15 seconds for three months, and then switches to another set of scents for another three months. “You can use essential oils,” Holbrook says.

The sudden interest in how coronaviruses affect olfactory function has boosted areas that traditionally receive less research funding than vision and hearing.

Holbrook says that the gift of smell is one of the joys of life. Imagine that you can’t get the aroma of roasting coffee or drifting jasmine. More importantly, the loss of odor becomes a public health problem if people cannot detect gas leaks, smoke from fires, or the rotten smell of rotten food.

“Most people feel the smell, of course,” adds Manger. “When people can’t smell any more, it can be a very emotional loss.”