Covid loss of taste and smell

[MouseLover]

My daughter had Covid in October with loss of taste/smell for about 2 weeks. It then returned to normal for a couple of months., In late December she developed post-Covid parosmia. Many foods smell and taste like rotting meat or moldy gasoline. It is most meats, eggs, onions, avocados, peanut butter, some cheeses.

 

[DLgal]

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

It all depends on whether the virus gets into the part of the brain accessible from the nose, and affects the olfactory cortex/bulb.

Some interesting studies have linked long covid neurological symptoms with the loss of taste/smell, even in mild infections.

 

[JBRB828]

I had Covid last August and I lost my taste for about 10 days. I never lost my sense of smell.

 

[cmarsh31]

Week of Thanksgiving... most of taste is basically back, but still off. Smell, faint hints. It's lousy.

 

[marthachick]

I had covid a little over a year ago. I can’t remember exactly how long until my taste abs smell returned. I do remember that when I was getting taste back that everything tasted really salty whether it was salty or not. Also, I had the burning smell like cigarettes for a short time.
Even now, onions stink and I dearly love onions and a lot of times fats and proteins like beef, chicken and cooking oils smell bad.

 

[ronandannette]

Although not researched enough yet to be conclusive, it may be that the loss of taste and smell is an anecdotal way to determine which of the currently circulating variants you have.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/cor...ariant-cause-loss-of-taste-and-smell/2725143/

 

[Lilsia]

It took just under 2 weeks for mine to start coming back. I had lost it completely and could only really tell if something was salty, sweet, or bitter. It has been almost 2 months and I am probably at 60% of where I was before. So I can smell and taste like most people. I have hyperosmia and I normally smell and taste things that most people can't. It has actually been amazing to not be able to smell what I used to. I feel like I am almost normal now and I can walk past someone with perfume or cologne and not gag.

 

[Lilsia]

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.

I pretty much ate instant mashed potatoes. I couldn't taste anything and it was fast and easy.

 

[MICKIMINI]

It all depends on whether the virus gets into the part of the brain accessible from the nose, and affects the olfactory cortex/bulb.

Some interesting studies have linked long covid neurological symptoms with the loss of taste/smell, even in mild infections.

Interesting. I've been dx'd with Long Covid. Thanks for passing that along...it's so new, my long time doc is still unsure if it will last months or forever.

 

[Allison]

That sounds terrible. I'm so sorry for those of you dealing with this issue. I would hate it.

 

[slo]

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‘m not wanting to be discouraging, but some people I know told me it took almost a month for them. I hope that doesn’t happen to you. Sending lots of PD your way to have your taste come back soon

 

[mamamary]

My dd only lost her smell and for the most part it only lasted a few weeks. But we just recently discovered that there are some things that she still can’t smell and she was one who got covid in the beginning.

 

[lisaviolet]

Just in case -

Vitamin b12 and/or a vitamin d deficiency can cause one to lose both taste and smell.

It might be worth checking levels if the loss persists, to cross it off.

 

[leebee]

DD lost both in Jan 2021. She started being able to taste things, and smell poop and garbage around Sept. or Oct. Her sense of taste is mostly back, but her sense of smell is only marginally better now- slowly progressing. She's discouraged, to say the least.

 

[The Mayor]

I’m may be one of the very lucky ones after reading this thread. I came back from Disney in November with COVID. Home on a Saturday with a really, really mild case of the sniffles. Just figured it was a cold coming on. Woke up Sunday morning and made toast with peanut butter and couldn’t smell or taste it. Oh oh. Did a home test and it came out positive. Followed up with a rapid test that day and positive. It was Thanksgiving week and by Wednesday my smell was back and Thursday my taste was back. It was a blessing because I love my wife’s stuffing!

 

[disneyseniors]

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.

So sorry to hear of you having this frustrating problem!
There are so many variables to how long this lasts, it's anyone's guess.
My grandson had loss of taste for 5 months. He said it was so weird and didn't help with his appetite when you can't taste the food. I have heard of others who lost their appetite and smell for 6 months.
I hope yours doesn't last that long. But at this point, everyone seems to be different.
Much worse than that, I lost my hearing from september until about Christmas. It slowly came back and I am Really Glad. I had scheduled a hearing test which I don't need now.

 

[disneyseniors]

My daughter had Covid in October with loss of taste/smell for about 2 weeks. It then returned to normal for a couple of months., In late December she developed post-Covid parosmia. Many foods smell and taste like rotting meat or moldy gasoline. It is most meats, eggs, onions, avocados, peanut butter, some cheeses.

That must be why I couldn't drink coffee for 4 months! It tastes like moldy gasoline, and so did a few other things. I often wondered about that.

 

[suzannews]

I had covid in January 2021. Lost my taste and smell. A year later, still don't have either back. I either smell nothing or it's a dirt or trash smell. Very strong smells, like seafood or cinnamon, are very faint, if anything. Cantaloupe and lettuce taste like straight dish soap. I don't eat either of those anymore. I read it's a genetics thing. I eat for texture. I eat way more potato chips than I ever have for the crunch and the little bit of salt that I can taste.

 

[Grand Koalafornian]

A friend of mine had it in March 2020, and her senses of taste and smell came back in a few months, but she still tastes mint as licorice and has some other distortions.

I didn't lose my sense of taste or smell, though they were weakened due to congestion.

 

[robinb]

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.

We had breakthrough cases of covid in November and my sense of smell/taste came back in about a week or two. My DH had fewer/milder symptoms than me but his sense of smell/taste took well over a month to come back.