- Loss of smell and taste with COVID-19 - how common is it?
- Loss of smell and taste with COVID-19: causes
- When do people with COVID-19 return to their sense of smell and taste?
Loss of smell and loss of taste are one of the symptoms of COVID-19. Why is the smell and taste loss in the course of coronavus infection, and why does this symptom have such a significant impact on the functioning of people suffering from COVID-19? How long does anosmia persist in people infected with coronavirus, when the sense of smell and taste return after COVID-19, is it possible to somehow alleviate unpleasant sensations?
Loss of smell and loss of taste in COVID-19is a symptom that, according to the latest research, affects a large percentage of people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Loss of smell and taste may appear as one of the first symptoms of COVID-19 or during the course of an infection. People suffering from anosmia (or an olfactory disorder) also do not feel the taste.
Therefore, this symptom of COVID-19 has a huge impact on quality of life: researchers do not rule out that the loss of smell and taste resulting from coronavirus infection lead to weight loss and even malnutrition due to lack of taste, as well as food poisoning ( without feeling the smell or taste of the food, it is impossible to judge whether it is spoiled), and even accidental poisoning with household chemicals.
The characteristic of the loss of smell and taste in COVID-19 is that affected people do not have a blocked nose at the same time - which in turn often occurs with other respiratory infections, such as a cold.
Loss of smell and taste with COVID-19 - how common is it?
Loss of smell and the associated loss of taste is a relatively common symptom of COVID-19, as confirmed by a series of epidemiological studies. One of them looked at the symptoms of COVID-19 reported by over 2 million people in Europe and the US (assessed using a symptom tracking tool based on a mobile app).
It turned out that of those who tested positive for the coronavirus, as many as 65 percent. have reported loss of smell or taste. An even higher index was found by a worldwide study by the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR). The study included 4,039 people with COVID-19 from 41 countries. As much as 89 percent of them reported a loss of smell, and over 76% - loss of taste.
The analyzes show that the incidenceThis symptom in people with COVID-19 varies depending on the study and ranges from 34-68%, which may be related to, for example, genetic factors, the name of the virus or the research methods used.
In some cases, the loss of sense of smell occurred before other symptoms of COVID-19 infection appeared, including cough and fever, which researchers believe suggests that this symptom may be used for the initial diagnosis of coronavirus infection.
Loss of smell and taste with COVID-19: causes
The causes of the loss of smell and taste with COVID-19 are not yet fully understood. Initial observations by scientists suggest that infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus leads to a loss of smell and taste through a mechanism that remains unclear to researchers. There is little research and data explaining how the coronavirus can enter the cells of the olfactory tissues and replicate in them, leading to the loss of the ability to sense smell.
A possible cause of loss of smell in people with COVID-19 is that the virus penetrates the outer layer of the olfactory epithelium, damages cells and causes inflammation, which temporarily disrupts the olfactory function of sensory neurons.
The coronavirus does not damage the neurons themselves, but disrupts the information transmission pathway. As suggested by a recent discovery by teams of Polish scientists from Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, the virus attacks support cells, which are part of the nasal epithelium, which are responsible for sending information about the smell to neurons. In turn, the loss of taste can be caused by an infection of the salivary glands.
When do people with COVID-19 return to their sense of smell and taste?
Observations show that in most cases the sense of smell and taste returns after an average of 14 days or after other symptoms of infection, such as cough, fever or muscle pain, have subsided - but it usually takes up to two months.
A study by Spanish scientists shows that over 90 percent in patients with olfactory problems associated with developing COVID-19, the sense of smell returned within 60 days.
A statement released to the Cope radio station in Madrid by a research team made up mainly of employees from the HM Hospitales network shows that 61 patients participated in the study.
As reported by the research coordinator Marta Ochoa, a neurologist from HM Hospitales, only 10 percent of of the respondents found that they had problems with smell two months after the infection.
Study participants observed that some patients regained their sense of smell, but developed a chronic olfactory disorder.
A consequence of COVID-19-related loss of smellSome people may experience parosmia, i.e. a distortion in the quality of a smell, or a phantasm, i.e. a sense of a non-existent smell.
In some people, however, the sense of smell and taste disappear for longer - even for several months, which, according to researchers, may be an effect of a virus on the central nervous system. Several people participating in the Spanish study confirmed that they did not regain their sense of smell even after six months after contracting COVID-19.
