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New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

nature.com

81–90 of 154 posts

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#81
post #58

Oooh yes yes - this is such wonderful news! Literally weeks before the world changed my boyfriends dad had begun to explore the world of cooking; he was so happy when we would bring him to niche little grocers to try things he had never known about before and trying all the food - but after his infection, and for the last 2 years - nothing. No taste. No smell. We try to make up for it by encouraging him to make stuff…

Around 15 years ago I broke my nose which eventually led to a loss of taste and smell. Around 8 months ago I had surgery on the internal structures of my nose which in addition to allowing me to breath again, I can also taste and smell. The experience has been completely mind blowing. On the flip side I can no longer order the spiciest of spicy Thai and Indian food from my usual restaurants. The owners poke fun at me…

That's fascinating because it implies that our ability to feel/respond to spicy food is all psychological. I would have figured that you would have felt at least some pain build while eating really spicy food but I guess not.

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#82
post #28

Have there been studies on the potential advantages of loss of smell and/or taste from COVID-19? Westerners are too obese, and presumably part of that's to do with the enjoyment people get from unhealthy foods. Whereas if you can't taste anything food's basically differently textured fuel of varying temperatures. You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without.

loss of smell. I don't know who fails to wipe their asses anymore

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#83
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around 15 years ago I broke my nose which eventually led to a loss of taste and smell. Around 8 months ago I had surgery on the internal structures of my nose which in addition to allowing me to breath again, I can also taste and smell. The experience has been completely mind blowing. On the flip side I can no longer order the spiciest of spicy Thai and Indian food from my usual restaurants. The owners poke fun at me…

That's fascinating because it implies that our ability to feel/respond to spicy food is all psychological. I would have figured that you would have felt at least some pain build while eating really spicy food but I guess not.

The response to spicy food is not all psychological. It's due to activation of heat receptors by capsaicin. Note: many factors affect the subjective experience of taste sensation.

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#84
post #60
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The saddest burrito in my life was when I had COVID. My doctor said I should take Zinc but that did not make it come back any faster.

I was cooking tacos for my family knowing I had COVID (we all had it at the time). I remember not smelling the seasoning, and threw a small handful of chopped raw onions in my mouth to confirm the bad news... Luckily it came back in about a week. Beer and wine tasted awful for a few weeks, and I am a fan of both. Luckily a year on, and all seems well for now.

Years later, I'm still registering new scents that I haven't smelled since before my first COVID infection. For a hearing analogy, it's not like the volume is turned down, it's like some frequencies are missing entirely. And then one day, suddenly, it's back. Freshly ground coffee is an especially rich source of new odors. It turns out coffee isn't just one smell, it must be dozens.

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#85

The pill is an antiviral called ensitrelvir. It sounds similar to Paxlovid. Both are protease inhibitors which slow/disrupt viral replication. It may help with other symptoms. In an earlier nature.com post.. "participants who took 125-milligram ensitrelvir pills recovered from five specific symptoms — stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, cough, feeling hot or feverish and low energy or tiredness — about 24 hours earlie…

I would expect this to be a nasal spray or similar, any idea why it's a pill?

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#86
post #75

Do we know what the mechanism of action is?

"[Loss of smell] is sometimes the only symptom to be reported, implying that it has a neurological basis separate from nasal congestion. As of January 2021, it is believed that these symptoms are caused by infection of sustentacular cells that support and provide nutrients to sensory neurons in the nose, rather than infection of the neurons themselves. Sustentacular cells have many Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on their surfaces, while olfactory sensory neurons do not. Loss of smell may also be the result of inflammation in the olfactory bulb." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symptoms_of_COVID-19#Loss_of_s...)

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#87
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around 15 years ago I broke my nose which eventually led to a loss of taste and smell. Around 8 months ago I had surgery on the internal structures of my nose which in addition to allowing me to breath again, I can also taste and smell. The experience has been completely mind blowing. On the flip side I can no longer order the spiciest of spicy Thai and Indian food from my usual restaurants. The owners poke fun at me…

That's fascinating because it implies that our ability to feel/respond to spicy food is all psychological. I would have figured that you would have felt at least some pain build while eating really spicy food but I guess not.

My mouth can handle the spiciest food one can order. Unfortunately, my GI system isn't quite so tough.

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without. So in your mind, there are alternative, inexpensive 6- and 12-packs of plain, unsugared yogurt sitting in national grocery chains, just waiting to be consumed by people with no sense of taste at scale? Edit: also keep in mind that people who have lost 40% of their sensory input are apt to go through a depression, and that being sedentary has…

[flagged]

So you have to drive to the grocery store more frequently and release more CO2? Why?

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#89
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fascinating because it implies that our ability to feel/respond to spicy food is all psychological. I would have figured that you would have felt at least some pain build while eating really spicy food but I guess not.

The response to spicy food is not all psychological. It's due to activation of heat receptors by capsaicin. Note: many factors affect the subjective experience of taste sensation.

I have been put into atrial fibrillation by the aggravation caused by spicy food from a popular indian restaurant in north Seattle. I had to get cardioverted. Was it due to stress? Was it due to the sustained rise in blood pressure? Was it caused by GI? It doesn't matter. I have to avoid it now, for safety.

Re: New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly

#90
post #2

I've now had Covid 3 x times. The first time I had incredible taste and smell loss, taking in excess of 4-5 months to recover, perhaps not even fully. The other times, I had no loss of taste or smell. I do wonder why it only impacted me the first time. Different Covid variant, or something biologically changed in me, causing it to impact me differently?

Did you take any supplements after your first infection?

I tried taking regular zinc + other vitamins before, during and after covid. Did nothing from what I can tell.
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