Temporary, if you survive.
The anosmia is caused when one of many viruses invades the olfactory sensory neurons that are directly exposed to the outside world where they reside, in the upper nasal region.
At least this Corona virus is not invading the brain,(Other corona viruses will do this in animals) the Herpes virus does in humans:
My understanding was that it could be a standalone symptom with COVID-19, unless I misunderstood. So not necessarily with normal range of symptoms.
Some doctors are touting it as a test for low-level COVID-19 where other symptoms are not present…
Posted at 15:4915:49 (BBC)
Loss of smell and taste - new symptoms?
Philippa Roxby
Health reporter, BBC News
There have been increasing numbers of people reporting a lost sense of smell and taste on social media.
Some have tested positive for the new coronavirus, while others who haven’t had a test wonder if the symptoms could be another common sign of it.
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists in the UK have also noticed the rising reports of anosmia - the term for loss of smell - amid the pandemic.
It’s no surprise that this would happen - viruses behind the common cold often cause us to lose our sense of smell and/or taste too.
But the specialists say it should be added to the list of symptoms for triggering self-isolation - especially in the absence of any other symptoms.
The move could “reduce the number of otherwise asymptomatic individuals who continue to act as vectors, not realising the need to self-isolate”, says the doctors’ body ENT UK.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology agrees that the symptoms should alert doctors to screen patients for the virus.
And with ear, nose and throat surgeons currently experiencing higher rates of infection compared to other healthcare workers, there could be a link.
In Germany, specialists note that more than two-thirds of coronavirus cases experienced anosmia.
In South Korea, 30% of patients who tested positive said a lost sense of smell was their main symptom if their other symptoms were only mild.
However, the evidence at present is all anecdotal and has not been confirmed by research.
The main symptoms of coronavirus continue to be a high temperature and a new, continuous cough, which means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.
Yes, that’s what the NYT story says. It’s like an advance warning because it typically shows up before the other classic symptoms.
That’s awesome. Do you have a super-suit too?
It’s good to know that this is an early warning flag for the illness. It might have added value to us wine enthusiast types, since maybe we’re more likely to notice this warning flag early than the average person.
That will teach me to post from my iPad.
I would have been nicer to you if I’d known you had a sense of taser.
Statnews has a piece on this. Loss of smell/taste is something to note but one of a list of symptoms. It is something that has recently been raised.
Link Doctors warn an inability to smell could be a symptom of Covid-19
After reading about this in the news this morning, I’m fairly certain that I had this.
I got quite sick the second week of January with flu-like symptoms that persisted for a few days, and then I completely lost my sense of taste and smell, and this was very scary. It was flat out gone for about a week, and I couldn’t smell or taste anything, but the senses gradually came back over the next week or so, as my other symptoms resolved as well.
I travel by air almost every week, and so I can imagine that I would’ve been exposed to this quite early on.
I also live in Seattle.
It’s a popular topic. Here’s the Bloomberg story:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-23/nba-player-s-loss-of-smell-highlights-unusual-marker-of-covid-19
I only discovered this sixth sense when I resisted arrest.
John,
Thanks for the smile & laugh!
SMELL-TASTE UPDATE:
Dr. Andrew Faskowitz
Surviving COVID-19 with Neurological Involvement from the perspective of a Neurologist
To be honest, it was very scary to go through no matter how much specialized medical training one has, but I was fortunate to have far less anxiety observing my own neurologic deterioration with an academic interest and an appreciation of the neuroanatomy involved.
After 17 days of mild lower respiratory symptoms, I lost all sense of smell and taste. This was likely the introduction of the virus into my brain traversing the cribriform plate via my olfactory bulb (Reference #1). The SARS-COV-2 Virus likely damaged my olfactory receptor neurons directly.
The same day I had a syncopal episode followed by a bizarre frightening well-formed visual hallucination that my fiancé turned into a monster (FYI she is an angel not a monster) and climbed out of my couch to get me. This was likely the earliest involvement of my reticular activating system. The reticular activating system, or RAS, is a piece of the brain that starts close to the top of the spinal column and extends upwards around two inches. It has a diameter slightly larger than a pencil. All of your senses (except smell, which goes to our brain’s emotional center) are wired directly to this bundle of neurons that’s about the size of your little finger (Reference #2). It also helps maintain consciousness and will be most affected over the next couple of days. At this point my sleep was being interrupted, but I had not yet fully understood why.
The understanding as to why will become existentially painful, almost nightmarish to me in the next few days.
Three days later, I started to develop auditory hallucinations, some kind of Russian music playing in a loop. I don’t speak Russian, but I expect if I did he was singing “Everything is going to be alright, don’t worry, but it is about to get much, much scarier”. Again, likely my RAS acting up. I then became paranoid and started acting irrationally. Perhaps the communication with my RAS and my limbic system. I was also filled with boundless energy which made the next four days of insomnia more tolerable. Perhaps my RAS protecting itself.
The next three nights I did not sleep more than 30 seconds. Any attempt at sleep would result in overwhelming rigor. This was likely due to “cytokine storm” (Reference #3). I was also beginning to realize that my primitive respiratory center was starting to fail me. If I did not consciously focus on breathing then I would stop and die.
As a Neurology Resident almost 20 years earlier I was fascinated by the condition, Ondine’s Curse. In the ancient mythical story, a young nymph named Ondine falls in love and marries. Upon discovering that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she uses her supernatural powers to set a curse on him. Ondine’s curse is an unusual spell that sneakily robs her disloyal husband of rest. He is doomed to a life in which he retains the ability to breath-but only when he is awake and conscious. Once afflicted by Ondine’s curse, the victim cannot breathe if he falls asleep—and therefore must choose between sleeping and remaining alive (Reference #4).
Four days later, I was ready to give up entirely. I voluntarily stopped breathing and lost consciousness. I was ready to embrace death with open arms. The nurse who was monitoring my vitals at the desk rushed in and woke me up and connected me to oxygen. But death will not come that easily.
That evening I started steroids, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin and slept 1 hour and the next morning woke up and 99% of my Neurologic symptoms had resolved. Two days later my sense of smell and taste returned.
Dr. Andrew Faskowitz
Board Certified in Neurology
Subspecialty Certified in Pain Management
Subspecialty Certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
https://www.crystalrunhealthcare.com/doctors/andrew-faskowitz