The Long Haul: Part 3

Loss of Smell is Likely Due to Brain Damage

Brain Damage from Covid Contributing to Loss of Smell?

I suspected brain damage was the cause of the loss of taste and smell and unfortunately I was correct. I didn’t want to come out and say it until we had some data.

My personal Covid story is that I knew I had covid in late 2021 when I could no longer smell coffee. Not only could I NOT smell it, it tasted like bitter mud water. I also could not smell my essential oils that I use to calm my nervous system. I was devastated at the time. It set off a panic inside me that I can’t explain. Fortunately my sense of smell and taste has mostly recovered over time.

This past month a study was published in Nature that is the first longitudinal imaging study comparing the brain scans acquired from individuals BEFORE and AFTER SARS-CoV-2 infection, to those scans from a well-matched control group.