A long covid state where you can taste and smell everything
Almost a year after Natalia Kano got Covid, she still posts regularly. TikTok video About her experience. For her it’s not over yet.
This is because 20-year-old Kano developed parosmia. Parosmia is a post-Covid condition where pleasant foods and aromas can cause unpleasant odors and tastes. Think of sewage, trash, and smoke.
Coffee is unpleasant for Kano. Water strangely tastes like a chemical. The autumn air smells like garbage.
“It doesn’t make any sense. It’s completely arbitrary.” Kano said in a TikTok video This shows that she is trying to squeeze Clif Bar to ensure protein and calorie intake.
She is not the only one to share her post-covid parosmia experience on social media. And her protracted symptoms do not seem to be particularly unusual.
Ahmad Sedagat, head of nasal science, allergies, and anterior skull base surgery at the University of Cincinnati, said “still being issued” in an attempt to quantify how common this condition is among people. Don’t wear a hat on the numbers. ” Someone who has Covid.
“But even if it’s 15-20%, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Parosmia-Covid connection
Parosmia occurs when a person’s olfactory nerve is damaged and ultimately changes the way the odor reaches the brain. This is not only related to Covid, but also to other viral infections.
However, it makes sense that it appears to have a specific relationship with the coronavirus, as it often affects the sense of smell of infected people. The estimate is 50% and 75% of them With Covid, the virus probably damages the olfactory nerve and the cells that support it, resulting in loss of taste and smell.
Fortunately, the vast majority of people regain their sense of taste and smell within four weeks. However, the recovery process is often time consuming. And for some, it may seem unsuccessful.
“We think [parosmia] It happens as part of the recovery process that damages the senses of smell, “Sedaghat explained. As damaged nerves and cells regenerate and regenerate, “miswiring” can occur, he said.
Having treated patients with post-COVID parosmia, Sedagat believes that this roaring wire has a protective element, as disgust helps protect people from substances that pose a risk of infection. .. In other words, the sense of smell and the brain can work together to keep the body safe.
This is just a theory at this point, “but it makes sense,” Sedagat argued. “It is consistent with what we know about the mechanism of evolution.”
“For those who are experiencing this, it can be a real, very serious change in how they relate to their body.”
-Abigail Hardin, Associate Professor at Rush Medical College
Get help with parosmia
recently, There was only a handful of studies In Parosmia and Covid, many people like Kano are looking for answers and looking to social media to share their experiences.At the same time, the Internet offers several possible (and unproven) treatments, including: Eat burnt oranges Restores the sensation of smell.
However, there are several evidence-based treatment options for parosmia. Smell training According to Sedagat, it is reliable and can be quite involved for those who have lost their sense of smell for months or who have developed this particular condition.
The specific approach varies from person to person and from provider to provider, but the general idea is that you will be asked to smell a particular odor (lemon, coffee, honey, etc.) several times for 20 seconds. In a few months. Then they try to imagine what it tasted and smelled to them.
“It’s a rigorous process,” Sedaghat said. He also encourages patients to look for the scents and tastes they once enjoyed.
“Does my coffee smell bad? If you don’t avoid it, the connection can be permanent, so don’t avoid it,” says Sedaghat. “Things are still plastic, but I want patients to expose themselves to unpleasant things.”
Of course, if the once-loved morning coffee now smells like sewage, it’s easier than it sounds. And parosmia can be very difficult to deal with emotionally.
Abigail Hardin, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Rush Medical College in Chicago, said: Works with long-distance Covid patients. “For those who are experiencing this, it can be a real, very serious change in how they relate to their body.”
Hardin said that those suffering from the emotional sacrifice of taste and smell changes may benefit from connecting with a mental health professional who focuses on patients with deafness and chronic pain. Said not.
Sedagat said the patients he worked with were at least moved to get an explanation of what was happening in their senses and brain. They are also relieved to know that while parosmia is absolutely devastating, it is a sign that their brain and body are trying to recover after the virus. “It tells us that the rebirth is happening,” Sedaghat said.
Still, there may be people with parosmia It may not return to normal.. At this time, little is known about Longcovid and its symptoms.
Mental health professionals like Hardin believe that simply naming something that is unpleasant and potentially traumatic, such as parosmia, can help cure it.
“Being able to get a diagnosis and give a name can alleviate the emotional pain that comes with it,” Hardin said. “But that’s not enough. There’s more we have to do to help people deal with this symptom in the long run. They may not know how long it will take to disappear. not.”
Experts are still learning about Covid-19. The information in this article is known or available at the time of publication, but guidance may change as scientists discover more about the virus. To keep your area’s health advice and case studies up-to-date, visit the following websites: gov.uk/coronavirus When nhs.uk..
A long covid state where you can taste and smell everything
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