- A new study has identified one of the most common symptoms of coronavirus among people who suffer from a mild form of the COVID-19 virus.
- After examining more than 2,500 COVID patients from 18 European hospitals, the majority of moderate COVID patients reported a loss of taste and smell.
- Fortunately, most people have recovered their taste and smell in a matter of days.
As the US reports its biggest single-day record for COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began, we are learning something new about one of the most common, but bizarre, coronavirus symptoms that we should be aware of.
A new study of more than 2,500 patients from 18 European hospitals identified the same strange symptom of COVID present in about 86% of mild coronavirus cases – the loss of a person’s taste and smell. This usually occurred in mild cases of COVID, which are defined as the absence of viral pneumonia or causing any measurable loss of oxygen in such a way that the person cannot recover at home. Most people regain those senses in six months, which sounds good on the one hand, but it’s also a little disconcerting – because who wants to be without taste or smell for half a year?
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Typically, patients with COVID recover these senses on average after about 18 to 21 days, according to the study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. However, about 5% have not yet recovered their full use of olfactory function six months after infection.
Olfactory dysfunction (or OD) “is a prevalent disorder in patients with COVID-19, with a higher prevalence in patients with mild forms of the disease,” notes the study. “In the 2-month follow-up (note), 75% to 85% of patients recovered their sense of smell according to subjective and objective olfactory assessments.”
Other details of this study:
- OD was found to be more prevalent in younger patients compared to older people suffering from COVID-19.
- People with moderate cases of COVID had “clinical signs of pneumonia”, such as cough and fever.
- Serious cases of COVID included people who probably already had illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and a myriad of respiratory, heart and neurological illnesses.
Steven Munger, director of the Center for Smell and Taste at the University of Florida, said CNN in an interview, one way to check if you have all the functions of your smell is with the so-called “bludger test”.
Basically, you close your nose with one hand and have a jelly in the other. Put it in your mouth and see if you can taste it. While chewing, release your nose. “If you have a sense of smell, you will suddenly smell all the odors and say ‘Oh! this is a lemon candy ‘or’ Oh! that’s cherry, ‘”said Munger. “It’s really kind of a very dramatic, quick response, ‘Wow’. ‘
“So if you can go from sweet and sour to full flavor and know what it tastes like, then your sense of smell is probably in very good shape.”
Andy is a reporter in Memphis who also contributes to vehicles like Fast Company and The Guardian. When he’s not writing about technology, he can be found perched protectively on his burgeoning vinyl collection, as well as nurturing his Whovianism and devouring a variety of TV shows you probably don’t like.