how do you get your taste buds back to normal

Scientists believe that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that leads to COVID-19, causes the loss of smell and taste by suppressing the smell receptors in the nose that detect odors and the nerve impulses that transmit information about odors to the brain. The most common causes of the loss of taste and smell are sinus and nasal diseases, viruses, and trauma to the nasal area. But for an unlucky few – as many as 10 per cent – the problems linger much longer.Share on Pinterest Cécile Fourcade/Stocksy

Professor Keast told The Sydney Morning Herald 75 to 80 per cent of people recover their senses within four to five weeks. Widely quoted figures suggest that 90 per cent of people have their smell and taste back within six months. The receptor support smells damaged by the virus naturally regenerate (think about when you burn your tongue, for example) – usually every two weeks under normal circumstances. The researchers found that loss of the two senses occurred at the same time as an increase in blood levels of an inflammation-signalling molecule called interleukin-6.įor the vast majority of people, yes, your senses will recover. Other studies in Italy, however, found there could be other reasons behind taste and smell loss. While researchers first feared that smell loss meant Covid-19 was accessing the brain (and its olfactory bulb), a team of experts at Boston’s Harvard Medical School instead found the cells that support sensory neurons in the nose are probably what the virus is infecting. “Basically smell is integral to every part of being human, and its loss is profoundly felt by those who experience it.”įrom why you might lose your taste and smell to how you can get it back, here’s everything you need to know.

Stanford head and neck surgeon and smell-loss expert, Dr Zara Patel, told Healthline: “I could go on for pages about how smell affects the way we interact as human beings – how we choose sexual partners, how we choose life partners, how parents and infants bond, how we make first impressions. Now it has 76,000 worldwide.Īnd while Omicron seems less likely to attack these senses, with the rate down to between 5 and 10 per cent, both the Alpha and (still circulating) Delta strains caused a loss of smell and taste in somewhere between 40 and 90 per cent of cases, according to Deakin University professor of sensory science Russell Keast. While the loss of taste and smell was identified as a coronavirus symptom very early in the pandemic, there’s growing evidence that a substantial number of people go on to develop long-term distortions to their senses.ĪbScent, a UK-based support group for people with taste and smell disorders, had just 1500 members before the pandemic. It’s hard to even think about – but for some people who recovered from Covid-19 months ago, it’s their reality. Imagine not being able to drink water, stomach the scent of your shampoo or even have sex with your partner because they smell “like sewage and rotting flesh”.

How do you get your taste buds back to normal