The effects of coronavirus are extensive but one of the hallmark symptoms is loss of smell and taste. The predominant symptom often confounds those it affects and a testimony shared by an NHS dietician on BBC Breakfast illustrates the eeriness of this common symptom. NHS dietician Victoria Bittle said: “The brain’s not interpreting things as normal, the things you’d expect to smell bad smells nice.”
“For example, going to public toilets smells of sweet hay,” she said.
Garlic, onions, coffee – all the thing that should taste nice, taste revolting, Bittle explained.
The NHS dietician said previously pleasant smells now reek of “sewage, sulphur, rotting flesh”.
As Brittle pointed out, it’s just such an important part of your life – so much is connected to your sense of smell and taste.
READ MORE: Coronavirus symptoms: Nine additional symptoms experts warn you need to be aware of
One of the most conclusive studies was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
A systematic review was conducted by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the preprint server MedRxiv from their inception until May 11, 2020.
Only studies involving patients with diagnostic-confirmed COVID-19 infection were included.
Twenty-four studies with data from 8438 patients with test-confirmed COVID-19 infection from 13 countries were included.
How to respond
If you have any of the main symptoms of coronavirus, get a test to check if you have coronavirus as soon as possible.
You and anyone you live with should stay at home and not have visitors until you get your test result – only leave your home to have a test.
Anyone in your support bubble should also stay at home if you have been in close contact with them since your symptoms started or during the 48 hours before they started.
A support bubble is where someone who lives alone (or just with their children) can meet people from one other household.
How to respond
If you have any of the main symptoms of coronavirus, get a test to check if you have coronavirus as soon as possible.
You and anyone you live with should stay at home and not have visitors until you get your test result – only leave your home to have a test.
Anyone in your support bubble should also stay at home if you have been in close contact with them since your symptoms started or during the 48 hours before they started.
A support bubble is where someone who lives alone (or just with their children) can meet people from one other household.
Published at Wed, 10 Feb 2021 09:00:00 +0000
Covid new strain symptoms: The smells that signal coronavirus – ‘sweet hay, rotting flesh’
