Health experts have witnessed an increasing number of COVID19 patients, who have been dealing with a strange side effect after recovery. This side effect is known as parosmia, which leaves patients with a foul smell. Parosmia is an issue, which alters patients’ sense of smell. It can lead patients to lose the intensity of their sense of smell. However, it has been causing patients to feel an overpowering foul smell more frequently. Experts have said that the condition can occur either around smells, which are usually pleasing, or around nothing at all. Health experts have said that there have been many patients who have been identified with this condition. An 11-year-old girl has contracted the disease back in November and like many others, she as well has lost her sense of smell and taste. She has recovered from this side effect by late January. However, by early February, she has started to feel something strange. She has said that she has started feeling a rotten smell around as if something is sitting in the fridge for a long time.
The girl has been taken to ear nose, and throat specialists and some neurologists. Medical professionals have not been able to find a cause behind the issue. However, they have said that it can be a life-lasting condition. Experts have said that it might be happening due to nerve damage that has been caused by COVID19. As per the experts, the condition can last for months and in some cases, it might continue to remain the same forever. Dr. Thomas Gallaher, who is a medical director of Infectious Disease and infection Prevention has said that up to 80 percent of people who have been diagnosed with COVID19 are at a higher risk of losing their sense of smell and taste but people will be able to recover with time. People who are dealing with long COVID19 might suffer from the condition for a long time. Dr. Thomas Gallaher has been working at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville North Carolina and UNC Lenoir in Kinston, North Carolina.
Dr. Thomas Gallaher and his other colleagues have said that they have seen more patients being diagnosed with this condition. However, at this time, they are uncertain about it. Gallaher has said that he and other medical professionals are focusing on one issue at a time during the pandemic. First, they will concentrate on the number of deaths due to the disease and they will try to find ways to prevent the spread of the virus. Later, they will focus on treating severe symptoms that are caused by the virus. As people are recovering from the disease in huge numbers, soon, they will conduct a study to examine and find means and ways to prevent long-lasting side effects, which are caused by the disease. Health experts have said that people who are dealing with this condition can seek help through online support groups. This condition is not a life-threatening issue but it can be a life-changing condition, said the experts.
