Sudden Taste-Odor Change May Be the First Sign of Coronavirus Infection

One study after another says that the main symptom of covid disease is loss of taste and smell rather than fever and cough.

When Dan, a physiotherapist at West Midlands Hospital in England, began to have difficulty breathing through his nose, he assumed that he had an allergy to hay fever.

But when he didn't smell anything while eating bean sprouts boiled in tomato sauce with the bread, the 23-year-old became anxious.

"It simply came to our notice then. I drank a whole glass of orange squash, but this time I didn't smell anything. "

Doubts arose as to whether he had been infected with the coronavirus. He called the emergency health helpline 111, but when they heard "no fever or cough", they said no worries.

"They said you can go to work, no problem. But I was not at all relieved by the sudden loss of taste and smell. I didn't think it was a coincidence. "

Ignoring the health department's advice, Dan went home in isolation. Mother and sister at home. The mother works with foot health for the elderly, and the sister is an ICU nurse at a children's hospital.

Upon hearing of her concerns, Dan's manager arranged for her to be tested for coronavirus. A few days later, the results showed that he was Covid-19 positive.

It is seen that many of the infected patients lose their taste and smell before the onset of fever or cough

"If I had continued to go to work listening to the government and working with patients, I might have spread the virus to many people."

So far, the NHS has considered high body temperature and frequent coughing to be two of the main symptoms of covid.

But the results of one study after another show that infected patients lose their taste and smell before the onset of fever or cough.

Professor Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society and a top nose-ear-throat specialist, says sudden loss of taste and smell can be a more 'believable' symptom of covid than fever or cough.

He and many of his colleagues are frustrated with why the government is still not paying attention to this symptom.

For the past two months, Professor Hopkins has been saying that people should be advised to go for quick isolation as soon as they see signs of loss of taste and smell.

The first press release issued on March 19 by the British Association of Nose-Ear-Throat Specialists states that covid patients are talking about loss of taste and smell.

Professor Hopkins says, "Two months ago we were just skeptical, but now this skepticism demands consideration."

The only symptom of loss of taste and smell

Professor Claire Hopkins says that covidosis can cause a sudden loss of taste. It can happen even if the nose is not closed in the cold.

This symptom may appear at the very beginning of being infected with the virus, or it may appear in parallel with other symptoms.

He says that in some cases, the only symptom is loss of taste and smell. Patients are unable to eat. Professor Claire says it is more common in people under the age of 40.

However, the UK Department of Health is still examining whether taste loss should be included in the list of coronavirus symptoms.

However, the World Health Organization, along with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and France have already listed sudden loss of taste and odor as a symptom of covid.

Evidence is found in one study after another

One study after another says that the lion's share of Kovid sufferers are talking about the loss of taste and smell.

The results, obtained from a coronavirus tracker app developed by King's College London, show that 59 per cent of users of the app who have been infected with covid disease say they suddenly have no nose odor, no taste on the tongue.

A joint study by King's College and the University of Nottingham in England and the University of Massachusetts in the United States found that of the nearly 7,000 app users who tested positive, 65 percent said they lost their ability to taste.

Dan now eats potato chips mixed with salt and vinegar every day to see if his sense of taste is returning.

Loss of taste and smell should be considered a more sure symptom of covid than fever, the researchers said.

It may take a year and a half to get the smell back

Professor Claire Hopkins, a British nose-ear-throat specialist, says the feeling of taste and smell returns within seven to 14 days of being infected. But in 10 percent of patients it takes longer.

He says that in some cases, the patient's ability to smell can be lost forever due to being infected with the virus. Sometimes it can take a year and a half to get it back.

Professor Hopkins is working with a number of doctors in Italy, France, Spain and Belgium. They all agree that if someone suddenly loses their taste and smell without getting a head injury or a runny nose, they are more likely to be infected with the coronavirus.

"Studies have shown that people who lose taste and odor without any other symptoms are more than 95 percent more likely to develop covidosis."

Professor Hopkins says that fever is not a very reliable symptom of covid, but that people can get fever for a variety of reasons, and that about 40 per cent of covid sufferers have a fever.

Professor Hopkins was involved in another international research project on symptoms. The study, conducted on more than 4,000 Kovid patients, found that patients' ability to smell was reduced by 60 percent. The ability to taste has decreased by 69 percent.

Professor Hopkins thinks that people who have worked in emergency services despite the loss of taste may have played a role in the spread of the virus.

"Many of these workers have told us that since the government is not considering the symptoms of loss of taste and smell, they have to go to work, they are not being given leave."

However, experts advising the government in Britain are still unable to reach a consensus on how much importance should be given to the symptoms of loss of taste.

Meanwhile, Dan now eats potato chips mixed with salt and vinegar every day to see if his sense of taste is returning. He says that even though the taste has returned a bit, the smell is still not good.

"When I cook garlic, others say it smells bad, but my nose smells very little."