how to get your taste buds back after coronavirus

This occurs when the virus damages the olfactory receptor nerve endings – the part within the nose that allows us to smell – or supporting olfactory cells – which trap odours in the nose and send the information to the brain. However, there is evidence that Covid can cause true taste to be affected as well.įood can taste bland, salty, sweet or metallic. We have five basic tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and ‘savoury’ (called umami) – which are not normally affected when we lose our sense of smell because they are detected with the tongue.

When we eat, the flavour of food is the combined experience of smell and taste together. Research by University College London Hospitals shows some patients with Covid partially recover their sense of taste and smell but describe some things tasting and smelling different. From their knowledge of other viruses, they say around a third of people will see recovery of their sense of smell over three years. The NHS say about one in 10 cases of taste and smell problems persist following recovery from Covid infection. READ MORE: How to treat Covid symptoms at home and the treatments available on the NHS Studies of loss of smell caused by other viruses show the senses can return within a couple of weeks for some, while for others it can take up to 18 months. There is currently no long-term data about recovery of taste and smell from a Covid infection, according to the NHS. You may find your favourite foods taste and smell differently following a Covid infection. Of the many symptoms of COVID-19, loss of taste is one of the most common, and is often accompanied by a loss of smell. According to the Office for National Statistics this figure is up 18 per cent on the previous week. Covid cases are starting to rise across the UK with 2.7m people said to have had the virus in the past week.

How to get your taste buds back after coronavirus