Why COVID patients lose a sense of smell

 Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in the United States called a possible cause of loosing a sense of smell.

It is well known that smell and taste loss is one of COVID-19 symptoms. Moreover, doctors say that some of patients could never feel taste and smell again. According to a study published in April in the European Archive of Otorhinolaryngology, 88% and 86% of 417 European patients who faced the infection in light or moderate form reported disfunction of taste and smell respectively.

The majority of patients said they couldn’t feel taste or smell even after extinction of other COVID symptoms.

Preliminary data showed that at least a quarter of patients have restored the ability of feeling taste and smell in 2 weeks after the extinction of other symptoms. The study says that there exists a lack of long-term data to estimate how long this condition may last in those who haven’t reported improvement.

 Why it can be? One of the theories of researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center says that olfactory receptors which seem to be “a road to brain, commit suicide and therefore cannot transmit the virus to the brain”. According to the deputy director of the center, this can be a healthy reaction to the virus – something like the way of protection.