Coronavirus: How does the loss of smell from COVID-19 actually feel like? We ask a COVID-19 survivor

By Lipi Upadhyay

As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the globe, it has been established by now that the SARS-CoV-2 virus manifests itself in different ways in different patients. While the novel coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China as a mysterious flu-like illness, scientists and medical experts have figured out that the disease also causes a host of other bizarre symptoms including loss of smell and taste. While earlier fever, dry cough and unexplained exhaustion were considered to be the hallmarks of COVID-19, people are increasingly reporting a loss of smell after contracting the illness.

To understand more about anosmia and ageusia (loss of taste) stemming from COVID-19, we spoke to Divya Singh, who has recently recovered from the viral contagion.

Divya had developed a nagging headache for three-four days which she brushed off as nothing. However, when her brother tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing loss of smell, she also decided to get herself tested. Around the time her reports came out to be positive, Divya experienced a complete loss of smell, meaning she could not smell anything at all. “My taste was also partially impacted owing to the complete lack of smell, but I could still detect flavours, even though the taste wasn’t as prominent.”

While Divya regained her sense of smell in roughly 4-5 days after testing negative for COVID-19, her brother, who has also tested negative, is yet to get his sense of smell back. It has been 20 days since he has tested negative for COVID-19, but he still hasn’t regained his sense of smell.

Shedding more light on the symptoms, Divya highlighted that apart from a minor headache for 3-4 days and a complete loss of smell after that, she did not experience any other viral symptoms like cold, cough, runny or blocked nose, fever, breathing problems etc.

According to preliminary data published in American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), 27 per cent of COVID-19 patients who had experienced the loss of smell, experienced some improvement in just one week, while the others felt better in a span of 10-15 days.

However, the jury is still out on the exact timeline of the recovery of a sense of smell and taste after combating viral infection. While some people take 3-4 weeks to regain partial function of their smell, others may recover fairly quickly, just like in case of Divya. However, there have also been instances where people never regain their function after a viral infection.

Given that loss of smell (and partial loss of taste) has been previously associated with a bad bout of cold and cough, it becomes extremely crucial to understand how the loss of smell after contracting COVID-19 actually feels like. A lot of researchers believe that anosmia (loss of smell) with novel coronavirus is an early warning sign of infection. Since SARS-COV-2 is a new virus, the scientific community has to still learn a lot about the contagion.

According to a research conducted by an international team of researchers led by neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School, “infection of nonneuronal cell types may be responsible for anosmia in COVID-19 patients.” This simply means that the ACE2 receptor is not expressed in the olfactory neurons, which the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to bind to the human cells but are actually present in cells that provide structural support to the olfactory sensory neurons.

Senior study author, Sandeep Robert Datta said, “Our findings indicate that the novel coronavirus changes the sense of smell in patients not by directly infecting neurons but by affecting the function of supporting cells.

For starters, you should consult an ENT specialist, if you feel that your loss of smell is lingering, long after you have tested negative for the disease. Secondly, you can also start smell training, which is essentially retraining your brain to learn to smell again. You begin by smelling four distinct, strong aromas for 10 seconds each, twice a day. The fragrances should be known and you should try to remember what a particular aroma smells like, while you take deep sniffs of each fragrance.

Studies have shown that switching up the four aromas after 12 weeks produced better results quickly. Researchers have maintained that focussing on remembering what things smelled like before the loss of smell, is the key aspect of smell training. It is important to understand that smell training is not guaranteed to bring back the lost sense of smell. In case of any confusion, it is strongly recommended to consult your medical care provider.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article should not be considered as a substitute for a physician's advice. Please consult your treating physician for more details.