Tamika Parish contracted Corona in August and although she recovered, her senses of taste and smell were completely lost • An expert explains: "This is not a very rare phenomenon"
Loss of olfactory following Corona // Illustration photo: Gettyimages
On taste and smell:
One of the most common symptoms known to us in the corona virus is loss of taste and smell.
The story of Tamika Parish, a mother of two four-year-old twins, illustrates firsthand the daily struggle, in different situations, without a sense of taste and smell.
Parish, she fell ill in Corona last August, and although she has already recovered and all the other symptoms have passed - she did not taste her food again and did not smell again in heaven.
"It's very frustrating not being able to smell the soap in the shower, knowing if the clothes smell good or bad, and it's also dangerous because I can't smell smoke if there's a fire in the house or a gas leak," she says.
The case of Parish is not special, as a certain proportion of Corona virus recoverers will experience the long-term loss of sense of taste and smell, it turned out.
Doctors still do not know for sure when these senses will return to their normal state, when there is a possibility that they will not return at all.
Why do we stop smelling and tasting?
First, these loss of senses does not characterize only the corona, as it is common in cases of diseases leading to upper respiratory tract infections.
Researcher Dr. Justin Turner, an expert in the field of ENT, and an associate professor at the University of Vanderbilta's Center for Smell and Taste, says:
It's really not uncommon - patients with upper respiratory tract viral infections experience temporary or permanent loss of taste and smell. "
According to the researchers, the virus produces infections in areas that block the taste and smell receptors, and unfortunately sometimes these infections also damage the receptors and not just block them.
Regarding Korna, according to Vanderbilt University researchers: "The widespread damage to these senses is due to the virus sharply attacking the tissue present in the airways around the receptors. The receptors themselves are damaged in the process, "they explain.
How many people are injured and when do the senses return?
In an objective study conducted by Vanderblit University, it was found that in the case of the corona plague 80 percent of people would be harmed or lose their senses of taste and smell.
However, according to Dr. Simon Wildes, an infectious disease specialist in Boston: "Most patients will re-experience the sense of smell within two to six weeks of the onset of the disease." 'And the senses do not return to them in this time frame, as also happened to Tamika Parish.
Loss of sense of taste and smell: the positive side
Did you get sick in Corona and lose your sense of smell?
We also have good news for you: According to a Vanderblit University study, your chances of being hospitalized are very low.
That is, chances are you will survive the disease, experience it easily and eventually your senses will come back to you as well.