EXPLORE!

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster - Loss of taste and smell may affect the senses even after patients recover

  2160 Views

Dr KK Aggarwal    18 November 2020

With input from Dr Monica Vasudev

1145: Loss of taste and smell may affect the senses even after patients recover, states The Washington Post.

Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 complain that certain smells seem strange and certain foods taste awful. This is termed parosmia, a disorder that temporarily distorts odors and often makes them unpleasant. This may be more debilitating in some ways than loss of smell.

Parosmia suggests that the sense of smell is returning. However, it may continue for an extended period of time and can also make certain foods intolerable. The worst offenders usually include fried foods, eggs, coffee, and chocolate.

Some patients may say that theyre smelling odors that arent there, - a distortion called phantosmia. Theyre smelling cigarette smoke or rotting garbage.

The Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research had published a report in June that noted that 7% of the 4,000 COVID-19 patients had distorted sense of smell. Having a parosmia in case of COVID-19, or any other viral upper respiratory infection that causes loss of smell, is in a way a good thing as it suggests that the individual making new connections and is getting a regeneration of that olfactory tissue and returning to normal. [WebMD Health News] 

 

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA

To comment on this article,
create a free account.

Sign Up to instantly get access to 10000+ Articles & 1000+ Cases

Already registered?

Login Now

Most Popular Articles

News and Updates

eMediNexus provides latest updates on medical news, medical case studies from India. In-depth medical case studies and research designed for doctors and healthcare professionals.