Covid loss of taste and smell

[MamaLema]

If you or someone you know went through this, how long did it take to be normal again?

it been 9 days so far and I’m feeling pretty discouraged. I’m the cook in the family and it’s been hard to do it with loss of these 2 senses.
I feel like a big part of life has lost its pleasure.

 

[RangerPooh]

Mine returned within two weeks of testing positive. Definitely was an odd experience to not have either.

 

[sk!mom]

My smell came back in 7-10 days in December 2020 and I didn't lose taste but I had a very mild case of Covid. My BIL had Covid in November 2020 and it was months before his taste was normal. His smell is still messed up. He reports still dealing with some things having an odd burnt smell.

Good Luck

 

[rlk]

It's been almost one year, I had Covid last February. My sense of taste and smell is not back to normal, although those senses have improved greatly. A lot of things still have a "Covid Smell" as in they smell like rotting garbage. Some days it seems my taste is almost back to normal (just muted a bit) and other days it I feel like I'm eating cardboard.

My husband is also suffering the same long-haul symptoms.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I know people who got it back in days, weeks, and months (as in 4-6 months). I'm sorry to say there isn't a way to know how long it will affect you.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I don't quite remember, but I think it was about ten days before I started tasting again. Sometimes things still smell weird to me, like just last night my cousin was making herself a can of chicken noodle soup and I could smell it cooking. It smelled 'off' if that makes any sense; I asked her if her soup was okay and of course it was just me. I was sick before vaccines and am still dealing with some Covid related issues.

 

[AustinTink]

Took my son about a month for taste and smell to come back and then everything smelled like it was burning to him. The burning smell lasted about another month.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Both DH and I had breakthrough in August. We lost our taste for about two weeks. It was awful. Cut, tropical fruit was the first food we could taste and it was delightful! Hopefully you'll get your taste and sense of smell back soon!

 

[cvjw]

My hairdresser had covid in December, 2020. Still has no taste or smell.

 

[DLgal]

It can be a permanent loss, unfortunately. There is no way to know how long it will last.

My husband had a VERY mild breakthrough case in August 2021 and his taste was off for almost 3 weeks.

 

[rlk]

Because my sense of smell is so off now, I have to be very careful about eating leftovers. It's difficult to know if something is going bad.

 

[FQLover]

I only lost the sense of smell. About three weeks later, it came back at around 50%. Now, about 3.5 months later, I would say that it is back around 80%

 

[evilmommie]

I had breakthrough Covid in August last year. Took a month before I could really smell and taste to a normalish level. At it's height, when all taste and smell were absent it was a very chemical sensation. Everyday after I lost those senses, I would smell essential oils in order to help my brain start recognizing scents. I'm still gaining them back, as I'll notice that I can smell something from my garden or house that has been out for a year, but didn't notice it earlier. Example, flowers or candle.

 

[kdonnel]

Sister in law lost her taste and smell January 2021.

Around October 2021 she started to regain her smell.

Everything smells like rotten meat.

That is how she remains.

 

[GAN]

A guy at work still hasn't gotten normal sense of smell back and this is 9-months later. He can smell things -but they don't smell like they used to ..as in a lemon might smell like metal. A close friend got it back, but 6-months later there are certain foods that don't compute. I know a good number this has happened to and it seems like most returned in 3-4 weeks 100%, so don't get too discouraged.

 

[LuvOrlando]

So sorry this is happening to so many people.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I found everything tasted like soap or chemicals. DH didn't have that...just no taste at all. We were very sick (double vaxxed) for nearly three weeks and had 102+ fevers. We had to force ourselves to eat. We had grilled cheese, english muffins and eggs and that was about it. We call it the "covid diet" now.

 

[luv2cheer92]

So thankful I never lost either. Intriguing how it affects people so differently.

 

[Key-note]

If you or someone you know went through this, how long did it take to be normal again?

it been 9 days so far and I’m feeling pretty discouraged. I’m the cook in the family and it’s been hard to do it with loss of these 2 senses.
I feel like a big part of life has lost its pleasure.

I had covid in December of 2020. To this day my sense of taste and smell are not the same. Some foods I used to love now taste like a nasty chemical and my sense of smell is not as keen. I hope you are not one like me but others who get it fully back in weeks.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I lost my sense of smell for a few days... it was less than a week. My sense of taste was diminished for a while, but never went away completely.