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Losing the Senses of Taste and Smell

Typical symptoms of COVID-19 include a cough, shortness of breath, fever,
chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and a headache. People with in uenza
often experience these same symptoms. However, COVID-19 has one other
common symptom not found in the typical u case: temporary loss of taste
and smell.
The condition is known as anosmia. With other illnesses caused by coro-
naviruses, patients have reported losing both senses of taste and smell for
several months. One study found that to be particularly true for people who
contracted SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) also caused by a coro-
navirus. The study cited the case of a Taiwanese woman af icted with an-
osmia for two years after her recovery from SARS. With COVID-19, however,
regaining those senses appears to occur within weeks. “The good news is
that the symptoms seem to be self-limiting and improve with time,” says
Wendy Smith, a physician who specializes in diseases of the ears and throat.
“Cases related to COVID-19 may resolve more quickly.”
Still, some victims report they found losing their senses of smell and
taste truly frightening. “I woke up and couldn’t taste or smell anything,” says
Holly Bourne, a COVID-19 patient from London, England. “[It was] one of the
most upsetting things I’ve ever gone through because you’re not in the driv-
ing seat . . . I just feel really powerless and scared.”

Quoted in Angela N. Baldwin, “COVID-19 Symptoms May Include Altered Senses of Smell, Taste,” ABC News,
March 24, 2020. https://abcnews.go.com.
Quoted in Sarah Dean, “Many People Lost Their Sense of Smell Weeks Ago. They’re Still Waiting for It to Come
Back,” CNN, April 12, 2020. www.cnn.com.

sures imposed in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere would fi nd their
way into their communities. They got their answer on March 19,
when California governor Gavin Newsom announced a state-
wide lockdown, ordering nonessential businesses to close and
everyone to stay home. New York governor Andrew Cuomo
acted a day later, announcing a state lockdown commencing
March 22.

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