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People suffering from prolonged COVID report a strong fishy smell, sulfur, and a sickly sweet odor, as more symptoms of the virus emerge.
The unusual side effect is known as parosmia, a distortion of smell, and it can disproportionately affect young people and healthcare workers.
Professor Nirmal Kumar, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon, called the symptom “very strange and very unique”.
Burnt toast and sulfur aroma have also been reported
Professor Kumar, who is also President of ENT UK, was one of the first doctors to identify anosmia (loss of smell) as a coronavirus indicator in March.
He urged Public Health England to add it to the symptom list months before it became an official guide.
You have now noticed that among the thousands of patients being treated for long-term anosmia across the UK, some are experiencing parosmia.
Professor Kumar told Sky News that patients experience olfactory hallucinations, which means that “the sense of smell is distorted and, for the most part, unpleasant, unfortunately.”
He added that it is “really worrying for patients and their quality of life is greatly affected.”
Long COVID-19 is a term to describe the effects of the coronavirus that can continue for weeks or months after the initial illness.
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Months after having COVID-19, some are still struggling with their health
Describing it as a ‘neurotropic virus’, Professor Kumar explained:’ This virus has an affinity for the nerves in the head and, in particular, for the nerve that controls the sense of smell.
“But it probably affects other nerves as well, and we think it affects neurotransmitters, the mechanisms that send messages to the brain.”
He added: “Some people report hallucinations, sleep disturbances, impaired hearing.
“We don’t know the exact mechanisms, but we are looking for ways to try to help patients recover.”
Daniel Saveski, a 24-year-old banker living in London, said he lost his sense of taste and smell for two weeks after contracting the coronavirus in March, and has suffered from parosmia ever since.
West Yorkshire’s Mr Saveski said strong-smelling things like containers now have a burning smell, similar to sulfur, or smell “like toast.”
She added: “My enjoyment of food has diminished and it is a bit depressing not being able to smell certain foods.”
Lynn Corbett, a real estate agent manager, said she was “shocked” to wake up in March to her 52nd birthday to “absolutely no smell or taste.”
Mrs Corbett, from Selsey in Sussex, said: “From March until the end of May I could not taste anything; I honestly think I could have bitten into a raw onion such was my loss of taste.
He said his sense of smell started to return in June, but “nothing smelled like it should.”
“Most of the things smelled unpleasant, that sickly sweet smell that is hard to describe, as I have never encountered it before.”
He said that despite being previously a “coffee addict,” the drink now smells “unbearable,” just like beer and gasoline.
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While not sure if she will ever regain her sense of smell, Ms Corbett said: “I agree with that, I just consider myself lucky that if I had coronavirus, which it seems I had, then I haven’t been seriously ill. sick, hospitalized or dead like so many others. “
Charity AbScent, which supports people with smell disorders, is collecting information from thousands of patients with anosmia and parosmia in partnership with ENT UK and the British Rhinological Society to help develop therapies.
They recommend that anyone affected by parosmia undergo “olfactory training,” which involves smelling rose, lemon, clove, and eucalyptus oils every day for about 20 seconds in an attempt to slowly regain their sense of smell.
Professor Kumar said: “There are some promising initial reports that such training helps patients.”
He added that most people will eventually regain their normal sense of smell.
