Patients recovering from Covid who lost their sense of smell and taste after becoming infected with the coronavirus may not see their senses return for up to five months.
Anosmia, the loss or alteration of smell and taste, is formally recognized as a symptom of coronavirus infection.
Data from the Office for National Statistics show that half of coronavirus patients present with symptoms, with 16 and 17% of these experiencing some form of loss of smell and taste, respectively.
Researchers at the University of Quebec studied 813 health workers who hired Covid-19.
More than a third (38%) of those who lost their sanity had not fully regained their taste after five months.
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Patients recovering from Covid who lost their sense of smell and taste after becoming infected with the coronavirus may not see their senses return for up to five months. Anosmia, the loss or alteration of smell and taste, is formally recognized as a symptom of coronavirus infection (stock)
All study participants completed questionnaires and completed homework tests to assess their sense of taste and smell.
It took, on average, five months after capturing Covid-19 and therefore researchers cannot say whether the asthma persists more or less, as the data do not yet exist.
“Although COVID-19 is a new disease, previous research shows that most people lose their sense of smell and taste in the early stages of the disease,” said the study’s author. , Dr. Johannes Frasnelli.
“We wanted to go further and look at how long this loss of smell and taste lasts and how serious it is in people with COVID-19.”
People rated their sense of smell and taste on a scale of 0 to 10, with zero meaning and 10 meaning a strong sense.
The average score for people recovering from Covid was eight, while it was again for people before they got sick.
Of the 813 participants, 527 lost their sense of taste during the initial illness.
Thirty-eight percent (200 people) of these had not regained their sense of taste five months later.
“Our results show that impaired sense of smell and taste can persist in several people with COVID-19,” Dr. Frasnelli said.
“This emphasizes the importance of monitoring infected people and the need for more research to discover the extent of the neurological problems associated with COVID-19.”
The study has not yet been reviewed by experts and will be presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology from April 17-22.
Loss of smell and taste was officially recognized as a symptom of Covid on 18 May 2020 and has since become an integral part of the diagnostic process, as the NHS says the only three Revealing signs of the disease are fever, cough. or loss of taste and smell.
Researchers at King’s College London (KCL) recently called for policymakers to widen this set of recognized symptoms.
Researchers at the University of Quebec studied 813 health workers who hired Covid-19. More than a third (38%) of those who lost their sanity had not fully regained their taste after five months (stock)
They say adding fatigue, sore throat, headache and diarrhea would detect “millions” of unconfirmed cases.
Chief medical professor Chris Whitty is already under pressure to change Covid’s official list of symptoms after the results of a government-led REACT study revealed that thousands of infected people are escaping through the cracks due to the narrow guide.
The World Health Organization and U.S. officials recognize other less common symptoms such as muscle pain and diarrhea.
But current testing and tracing standards mean sticks in the UK are only reserved for people with fever, continuous coughing or loss of smell or taste.
Professor Tim Spector, chief application scientist Zoe and epidemiologist at King’s College London, said: “We know from the outset that only focusing on the classic tests of cough, fever and anosmia loss loses a significant proportion. of positive cases.
“In May we identified asthma as a symptom and our work caused the Government to add it to the list; it is now clear that more needs to be added.
“By inviting users who register any new symptoms to take a test, we confirmed that there are many more symptoms of Covid.”
A group of 140 GPs in London echoed this sentiment and called on health chiefs to extend the number of recognized symptoms.
They say many patients with milder signs have not even considered they might have the virus and have not self-isolated when they are most infectious.
Doctors add that they should encourage patients to lie for a test, which are only available to those with all three recognized symptoms.
Extending the scheme to include dry noses in the depths of winter would likely accumulate immense pressure on the UK’s testing and monitoring system.
Top scientists have been campaigning for the official list to expand for months, after warning that it does not detect enough infection in the early stages.