Researchers in the field of odor and the epidemiological system are trying to find out if one of the corona’s most common and destructive symptoms – loss of taste and smell – can be permanent, according to a report published in the New York Times on Saturday. According to the report, while the sense of taste and smell usually returns to patients after they have sometimes recovered within a few weeks, in a minority of them the symptom persists.
While the world has cited 85 million cases of corona virus, the report lists some experts who fear the epidemic could leave a huge number of people with permanent odor and taste loss.
Dr. Sandape Robert Data, a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, told the NYT that “if you think about the number of people with corona around the world, even if only ten percent of them have longer odor loss, we’re talking about millions of people.”
Data explained that the loss of the sense of smell, which is closely related to the sense of taste, may have a profound effect on mood and quality of life. “You think of it as an aesthetic bonus sense,” Dr. Data said. “But when someone loses their sense of smell, it changes the way they perceive the environment and their place in the environment. People’s sense of well-being is impaired. It can be really jarring and daunting. ”
In addition to the potential immediate loss of sense of taste and smell, patients also reported symptoms of drastic changes in their perception of tastes and their overall appetite, leading to concern about nutritional deficiencies.
According to the report, there are a number of corona healers who suffer from unpleasant and often harmful phantom odors, such as the smell of burning plastic, ammonia or feces – a deformity called prosemia.
Sense of taste (illustration) (Photo: Ing Image)Dr. Dolores Melespina, a professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, genetics and genomics at the Ikahan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told the NYT that odor loss is a risk factor for anxiety and depression, and that olfactory dysfunction often precedes social deficits in schizophrenia, And social retreat even in healthy people.
A recent study of 153 patients in Germany found that “scent training” smelling essential oils or sachets with a variety of scents (such as lavender, eucalyptus, cinnamon and chocolate) several times a day in order to coax the sense of smell, can be moderately helpful for those with lower functioning. However, the small sample size of the study and the short follow-up period prove that although the “training” looks promising, it is still too preliminary for scientists to present it as such.
In May, a study by international researchers, including one from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found that alongside a partial or complete loss of taste and smell, patients’ sense of touch can also be damaged during the disease, although it is not yet known if this symptom can be permanent. Last month a research team in Barcelona found that in addition to the loss of senses, according to reports, many Corona patients experienced severe irritation with dryness along with the onset of their loss of sensation, which lasted about 12 days.