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A loss of smell, and therefore taste, is emerging as one of the most unusual early signs of mild to moderate 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. Although fever, cough, and shortness of breath are the key signs of COVID-19, a recent analysis of milder cases in South Korea found the major presenting symptom in 30 percent of patients was anosmia, or loss of smell. In Germany, more than two in three confirmed cases had this symptom.
One way to test your smell is to use foods, says ear, nose, and throat specialist Erich P. Voigt, MD, director of the at 嘿嘿视频 Health.
鈥淭he pure smell sense would be if you can smell a particular substance that鈥檚 not stimulating other nerves,鈥 Dr. Voigt says. 鈥淪o some examples of that would be if you can smell ground coffee or coffee brewing, or if you can smell someone peeling an orange. That鈥檚 the smell sense.鈥
Of course, failing the smell test on its own does not mean one has COVID-19. Any respiratory virus, such as cold or flu, can affect smell and taste.
鈥淭he amount of swelling that can occur in the nose from the viral effect can prevent the smell particles from getting all the way up to the top of the nose where the olfactory nerve is,鈥 Dr. Voigt says. 鈥淲hen that swelling goes down, the sense of smell can return.鈥
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