Parosmia Covid: Symptoms and Treatment
COVID-19 changed our lives forever, it became a pandemic that only last year governments
and health centers could control. Among the symptoms of the COVID-19 disease, there is fever,
cough, tiredness, and loss of taste or smell. Even when the recovery rate is high, there are
some people that have side effects. One of the most unpleasant is the one called parosmia.
Parosmia covid can be described as a condition where usual smells are perceived as
disgusting. Someone with parosmia can perceive smells like fruits and vanilla, like garbage or
rotten food.
What Is Parosmia?
According to experts, parosmia can be the result of several diseases. Such as seizures,
respiratory infections, and brain tumors. Professor Richard Orlandi from the Department of
Surgery at the University of Utah Health claims that COVID-19 recovered patients report
suffering from parosmia.
There’s not much information about the relationship between parosmia and COVID-19. When
compared with other side effects due to COVID-19 like heart problems, respiratory issues, and
depression, parosmia may not seem that urgent. However, doctors and physicians say that it
can get serious in the future.
Orlandi says that the sense of smell is important, it’s the one that allows you to enjoy food. It
also helps to be aware of dangerous situations such as smoke in fires. The smell is also directly
connected to memories, helping us to remember past experiences.
Depending on how serious the parosmia covid is, it can cause patients to feel annoyed or even
make them have anxiety symptoms.
Treatment for Parosmia Due to COVID-19
Even though there’s no proven treatment for parosmia covid, some people believe in alternative
options to treat it. Smell therapy is one of them. It takes the person to smell strong scents like
citrus, mint, or eucalyptus every day for the brain to remember what the actual smell is. Further
studies are needed to know if this therapy works.
For now, avoiding strong scents that are perceived as offending is the best way to deal with this
condition. The good news is that doctors expect that, in most cases, the sense of normal smell
will return eventually.
Professor Orlandi mentions that as parosmia due to COVID-19 there are more long-term
symptoms that scientists and doctors are studying. One of the things we know is that most
patients have their sense of smell back. But, it’s still unclear how many patients will get fully
back to normal.