Long Covid: This is the best way to learn to smell again

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Although we have been living with the - therefore not so new - coronavirus for the second year now, the disease Covid-19 is still a mystery.

Thanks to tireless research, we now know significantly more about the course of an infection and its symptoms and have already been able to develop vaccines.

But it is still not clear why the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen causes patients to suffer even months after their illness has passed.

The term long covid summarizes the long-term consequences.

According to results from the Canadian University of Quebec, for example, around 51 percent of all recovered Covid-19 patients observed that they still cannot smell properly weeks or even months after the infection.

Even unmistakable smells such as garlic, coffee or a strong smell of sweat are barely or barely perceived by them.

Experts call anosmia the complete loss of the sense of smell.

What can you do about it?

Researchers at the UK University of East Anglia have looked into this in a recent study.

They came to the conclusion: It is not medication, but intensive odor training that helps Long Covid patients best.

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In general, there are currently two common therapeutic approaches for olfactory disorders: On the one hand, doctors rely on the administration of drugs with so-called corticoids.

This is understood to be a group of around 50 steroid hormones formed in the adrenal cortex as well as comparable synthetic substances.

They activate certain receptors in the body and set anti-inflammatory processes in motion.

However, there is little evidence as to whether the common corticoids really help to regain the sense of smell, as study leader Professor Carl Philpott explains in a press release from the university:

Because they have known potential side effects, we do not recommend prescribing them to treat post-viral odor loss 

Prof. Carl Philpott, olfactologist at the University of East Anglia 

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Because these drugs inhibit the performance of the immune system, people treated are often more susceptible to other diseases.

Cushing's syndrome can also occur: the body accumulates fat tissue due to the increased cortisol level in the blood.

Because of these side effects, more and more ENT doctors are using olfactory training to treat disorders of the sense of smell.

As the British research team has now discovered, this method is more promising than the administration of medication, even for those who have recovered from Covid-19.

Most corona patients can smell normal again at some point.

Source: Getty Images / Science Photo Libra / MICROGEN IMAGES / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

For the study, a total of 1363 patients with an olfactory disorder after being infected with the coronavirus were examined.

It turned out that, on average, one in five sufferers regained their sense of smell within eight weeks of being infected.

Around 90 percent of all those affected were able to perceive normal smells through their noses after six months at the latest.

The researchers recommended a supportive smell training.

You should literally sniff at least four different and very distinctive smells twice a day for a few months.

Gradually, there was a noticeable improvement in olfactory abilities, which could not be observed when medication with corticoids was administered.

It helps aid recovery based on neuroplasticity - the brain's ability to reorganize to make up for a change or injury 

Prof. Carl Philpott, olfactologist at the University of East Anglia 

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If you don't know which smells to use, you can start your smell training with clove, rose, lemon and eucalyptus.

According to experts, the essential oils of these substances are particularly suitable for training the nose.

It can also help to train your nose on previously familiar scents, such as your own favorite perfume, a frequently used cream, vanilla or coffee scent.

These smells are anchored in our memory and can help revitalize the sense of smell.

In order to achieve the best possible result, the four training smells should be changed after twelve weeks.

Other causes of the loss of the sense of smell should be ruled out.

Source: Getty Images / Petri Oeschger

The training has no side effects, costs little and is so far the only therapy that has shown measurable success, according to the researchers.

Drugs containing steroid would only help in a few exceptional cases, emphasizes study director Professor Philpott:

It might be useful to use oral corticosteroids to rule out another cause of the loss of smell, such as chronic sinusitis 

Carl Philpott, professor at the University of East Anglia 

Chronic sinusitis is a recurring or never completely healed inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, which can also lead to a loss of the sense of smell.

In this case, the corticosteroids have an anti-inflammatory effect and reduce symptoms.

Why there is a loss of the sense of smell after a Covid 19 infection has not been conclusively clarified. Researchers suspect that the olfactory disorder is mainly due to the fact that the virus

infects and damages

the cells of the olfactory mucosa and the

olfactory bulb

, the olfactory bulb, the nerve connection between the nose and the brain.