Loss of smell and/or taste is one of the most characteristic symptoms when you are infected with the coronavirus. You know for sure when you can no longer smell these scents.
Cough and fever are common symptoms of the coronavirus. But also loss of smell and/or taste is something that should set off alarm bells. Now a small-scale study in India shows that not being able to smell and/or taste certain flavors can indicate contamination.
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The study involved 84 people, including 49 asymptomatic Covid patients and 35 healthy participants. The aim was to investigate whether a reduced sense of smell is a warning sign of infection with the coronavirus.
The research was done by the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute Mohali and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh. It looked at five scents that are very familiar to the Indian population and which they easily recognize:coconut oil, fennel, garlic, peppermint and cardamom.
And what turned out? The coconut oil and peppermint odors were the hardest to smell and recognize in the Covid patients. About 25 percent could not smell peppermint and about 21 percent had difficulty recognizing coconut oil. 6 percent of the sick could not identify any of the five odors. The healthy participants could recognize almost all smells, even if someone occasionally missed the mark.
Further research still needs to be done into why the odors could not be recognized by covid patients.
