Source: China News Network
"After the symptoms of fever and body aches have disappeared, I still can't smell anything. Even when I drink vinegar, I don't feel the sour taste. What's wrong with me?" Recently, many netizens reported on social media platforms that symptoms of loss of taste and smell appeared after recovery from infection. Some people recovered automatically in 2-3 days, but others have lasted for nearly a week. Experts say that this is not a sequelae of COVID-19. Various foreign studies show that most people will recover within a month.
Doctors remind: "Fighting virus with fire" is not advisable
According to the WeChat public account "Shanghai Jiading", a post-95s boy in Shanghai Jiading who was infected with the new coronavirus lost his sense of smell and taste. In just 5 minutes, he chewed lemons, swallowed mustard, and drank soy sauce in an attempt to awaken his sense of smell and taste.
This young man born in 1995 is not an exception. The reporter noticed that on social media platforms, some netizens used canned herring and other foods to stimulate their olfactory and taste systems.
Zhang Hui, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology of Jiading District Central Hospital, said: The awakening method of "fighting poison with poison" is not advisable. During the recovery period, you still need to pay attention to a light diet..
Dr. Zhang Hui said that some patients with new coronavirus infection will experience loss of taste and smell. There is no special treatment for this loss of taste and smell.
It is actually not advisable to use vinegar and other irritating foods to restore the sense of taste. Because this irritating food will damage the local oral mucosa and even the mucosa of the digestive tract, causing stomach discomfort .
Loss of taste and smell
May be related to the intensity of the immune response of the infected person
From Columbia University , University of Pennsylvania and other scientific research institutions published in the "PLoS Public Library of Science" on December 14 found that the loss of taste or smell after infection with the new coronavirus may be related to the intensity of the immune response of the infected person.
December 18 A study published by the Johns Hopkins University research team in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology shows that the loss of smell is likely to be the response of the body's immune system to the new coronavirus infection.
According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) report on July 28, in an analysis report released by " British Medical Journal " (The BMJ), researchers analyzed 18 previous studies on smell and taste loss conducted on several continents and different populations. About 75% of such patients will have their sense of smell or taste restored within 30 days. Reports indicate improved rates of return of the sense of smell or taste over time. In addition, a study conducted by scientists at Singapore General Hospital in September 2022 found that most patients will regain their sense of smell or taste 6 months after experiencing COVID-19 infection.
It is not a sequelae, and can usually be recovered within a month.
"Sequelae generally refers to symptoms that persist after the disease is completely recovered, and after the acute phase of the new coronavirus infection, some people have residual symptoms Symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, such as nasal congestion, cough, and loss of smell and taste, are not sequelae and can only be said to be one of the symptoms of new coronavirus infection," Zhao Yu, chief physician of the Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, said in an interview on December 21.
Lin Jiangtao, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, also pointed out that loss of smell and taste is a "transient" symptom of COVID-19 infection, especially infection by the Omicron virus strain. As the disease progresses and symptoms gradually reduce, most people can return to normal on their own.
Symptoms of decreased sense of smell and taste usually improve on their own within two weeks to one month, so there is no need to worry too much. "However, if the loss of taste and smell does not improve for more than a month, it is recommended to go to the otolaryngology department of a nearby hospital in time." Zhao Yu emphasized.
Source: China Youth Daily, Shanghai Jiading, News Square, People's Daily client, etc.
