Loss of Smell and Taste May Persist Post-COVID Infection

The coronavirus is still rearing its ugly head among the Black and Latino communities and experts are still scrambling to make sense of it all.

Now with the vaccines out, many are still questioning the severity of Covid-19.

We have lost so many, yet some have been diagnosed and still walk around with little to no symptoms.

One symptom, in particular, the loss of smell and taste, is noted to be one of the most lingering symptoms that patients experience.

However, in recent news, Covid-19 patient Dr. Jennifer Spicer had her loss of smell and taste come back, but unpleasantly different.

It’s still a mystery behind the Covid-19 effects

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The assistant professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine reported that six months after being infected and experiencing fever, chills, fatigue, and loss of smell and taste for about a week, she is now regaining her senses back – as repulsive as they may be.

“It’s really awful. It ranges from an unpleasant chemical taste to a rotten meat taste,” Spicer explained after a recent bite of cheese that tasted like chalk.

According to a study, experts found that 86% of patients with mild forms of Covid-19 developed loss of sense of taste and smell, compared with 4% to 7% of those with moderate to severe cases.

The study was conducted with more than 2,500 patients from France, Belgium, and Italy.

It concluded that the majority eventually regained their senses back within two months.

Here’s what the experts think

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Experts have a theory that the virus disrupts the pathway for neurons to get to their destination in the brain.

Each olfactory neuron has one odor receptor. Microscopic molecules released by substances around us, like flowers or coffee, stimulate these receptors.

Once the neurons detect the molecules, they send messages to your brain, which identifies the smell and taste.

These support cells are covered in a receptor called ACE-2 which is Covid-19’s primary target in human cells and dulls those senses.

When these pathways get disrupted or crossed, people lose their sense of smell and taste.

Although researchers are not quite sure why the adverse “chemical” taste they actually think that those nerve endings are trying to grow and repair themselves and are hopeful that at least some reaction is occurring.