COVID-19 patients often lose their sense of smell and taste. This is rare for a viral infection. At-home smell tests could be used as a screening tool and help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Brains recognize a smell based on which cells fire, in what order – the same way you recognize a song based on its pattern of notes. How much can you change the ‘tune’ and still know the smell?
Is it possible that people who recover from COVID-19 will be plagued with long term side effects from the infection? An infectious disease physician reviews the evidence so far.
Many respiratory viruses cause us to temporarily lose our sense of smell. But SARS-CoV-2 isn’t like those other viruses. Researchers are now exploring how it differs and whether patients recover.
Rakaia Kenney, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Kayla Lemons, University of Maryland, Baltimore County et Weihong Lin, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Mmmmmmm. That smells delicious. Wait, how do you know that?
All of the senses have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, not because the senses have changed, but because the world has, writes a sensory historian.
Patients who later test positive for COVID-19 are reporting early loss of smell and taste. Researchers are now trying to understand if this could be an early sign of the disease.