Covid-19 and loss of smell: IMPORTANT news for noses

We know that there are many rumours swirling around the coronavirus, but we felt that this was worth circulating to a community which is highly tuned into its sense of smell.

Top ENT specialists have pinpointed loss of sense of smell – a.k.a. ‘anosmia’ – as a potential symptom of those carrying the Covid-19 virus, who are otherwise asymptomatic.

Previously, we were told to look out for symptoms such as a high fever and a new continuous, dry cough – and for people with those symptoms to self-isolate within their own homes. Scientists suspected, however, that the wide-spreading of the virus has, in part, been due to otherwise seemingly healthy people going out and about – unaware that they are carrying the virus and unwittingly infecting others.

The British Association of Otorhinolaryngology (ENT UK) published a statement that these anosmia symptoms had been found among ‘…a number of patients in the “absence of other symptoms”‘.

Professor Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society, and Professor Nirmal Kumar, president of ENT UK, remarked in the joint statement, published online, that they’d noticed a significant and sudden rise ‘in cases of isolated anosmia’ — total or partial smell loss — in the UK, US, France and northern Italy.

The statement goes on to remark that they ‘…think these patients may be some of the hitherto hidden carriers that have facilitated the rapid spread of Covid-19,’ commenting that, ‘Unfortunately, these patients do not meet current criteria for testing or self isolation.’

As fragrance-lovers we are generally more in-tune with our noses and sense of smell than the majority of people, simply due to the fact we spend so much time focussing on scent, concentrating on how it smells. (And, of course, lavishly spraying ourselves in our favourites and describing them to others.) Therefore, we are perhaps in a better place to notice a loss of smell more immediately. And therefore – more importantly – to act on it.

Although current government guidelines on self-isolating with signs of coronavirus do not yet specifically mention the loss of smell as a symptom, it is worth pointing out that the advice DOES state that we should self-isolate and take extra precautions if you are displaying any symptoms at all, ‘however mild’.

What to do if you have recently lost your sense of smell:

As of last night, the government have enforced a complete ‘lockdown’ within the U.K. – a precaution that the French authorities undertook a week ago. Now that the ENT specialists have made the link between a loss of smell as a clue you may be a carrier of Covid-19, even if you don’t have a high temperature or a cough, if you live with other people, the advice is that you should take extra precations and self-isolate as much as possible within your own house.

This means not sharing bathrooms or kitchens, if at all possible. Where only one bathroom or kitchen is available, there are other measures you can take to prevent the spread of infection – such as not sharing towels or tea-towels, and information about how to thoroughly clean your shared living space.

Currently it seems the majority of those who did lose their sense of smell due to carrying the Covid-19 virus are reporting that they have fully recovered their sense of smell after around a month (much quicker in the case of one sufferer we know personally), though these are early days and much has still to be learned. Fifth Sense, a U.K. charity for those with smell and taste disorders, also have a useful article on their website regarding Covid-19 and the loss of smell.

Another source of contact for those who have lost their sense of smell – through a virus, due to medication or from birth – is the recently established charity AbScent which has lots of great advice on their website.

These are scary things to read, indeed, and of course worrying times for us all. But there is good news coming out of China, for those who are recovering and for whom life is slowly going back to (an albeit new) kind of normality. This has only been achieved by everyone working together, following the guidelines and self-isolating.

As difficult as this is, we CAN get through this together, and we shall emerge with a new sense of just how important it is to talk to our neighbours, to check in on the most vulnerable within our communities, and to grasp every moment of freedom and health with joy. Even if that’s only meeting a friend for coffee or going to an art gallery or literally stopping to smell the roses. How we shall treasure those moments anew when we can do them, freely, again.

And we shall do, we shall.

Stay safe, dear fragrant friends.

By Suzy Nightingale

Living without your sense of smell

Despite many recent technological and fascinating biological discoveries, our sense of smell remains the least explored and perhaps still most misunderstood of all our senses – despite being so important to our every day lives. And the sudden loss of smell, or having lived with no sense of smell at all, can be utterly devastating, and Fifth Sense have launched a film to explain…

Smell isn’t simply a pleasure, it makes up a huge percentage of how we taste, helps us navigate our understanding of the world we live in and form connections and relationships with those closest to us. So when people lose their sense of smell – through injury, illness or because of the medication they’re taking – it can be a life-changing and deeply disorientating time, and we refer to this as experiencing ‘anosmia’. And then there are those born without a sense of smell at all, or an impaired sense, who perhaps don’t realise at first, but come to feel left out, ignored, and as though their inability to smell doesn’t matter.

Fifth Sense is a UK charity specifically for people affected by smell and taste disorders, offering support, advice and conducting their own research, as well as running workshops, seminars and get-togethers for those who have hitherto felt abandoned by the medical profession, or misunderstood by well-meaning friends and family.

‘The smell of cut grass, freshly baked bread, childhood memories, lost loved ones. What happens when it’s all gone?’ This is the question asked in a new film launched on YouTube, highlighted by Fifth Sense, on the University of East Anglia’s channel, which you can watch below…

Fifth Sense was founded by Duncan Boak, who lost his sense of smell and taste following a head injury in 2005,and has worked so hard to make this condition at least more understood, and taken seriously.

We encounter people all the time who sadly tell us they can’t smell, or that their sense of smell has become impaired, and they feel so lost. If you are one of these people, please do get in touch with Fifth Sense, because there’s a whole community of people out there who totally understand what you’re going through. And there ARE ways to help. Indeed, Duncan himself attended one of our How to Improve Your Sense of Smell workshops (keep an eye on our Events page for when the next ones are due for 2020) and became quite emotional having blind-smelling a fragrance, realising he had written some of the same key words others (without impaired smell) had.

In those moments – and watching films like this – we realise quite how important our sense of smell is…

By Suzy Nightingale

 

Fifth Sense seek 'top tips' for their smell disorder survey

Our sense of smell remains the least explored and perhaps still most misunderstood of all our senses, despite being so important to our every day lives. Smell isn’t simply a pleasure, it makes up a huge percentage of how we taste, helps us navigate our understanding of the world we live in and form connections and relationships with those closest to us.
When people lose their sense of smell – through injury, illness or because of the medication they’re taking – it can be a life-changing and deeply disorientating time, and we refer to this as experiencing ‘anosmia’. Fifth Sense is a UK charity specifically for people affected by smell and taste disorders, and they’ve launched a nationwide survey collecting tips and experiences to develop what will be (remarkably) the first-ever exchange of coping strategies and ideas for better living.
The ‘Top Tips’ survey will be circulated amongst Fifth Sense’s 2000+ members, but they’re reaching out to the wider smell and taste disorder community, and the tips they’re putting together will cover medical, psychological and lifestyle categories, such as:

  • Getting advice from the medical profession
  • Coping with the emotional impact of smell and taste impairments
  • Eating, drinking and cooking
  • Smell training
  • Top rants – what frustrates you the most about having a smell or taste disorder?

Fifth Sense founder and Chair, Duncan Boak, who lost his sense of smell and taste following a head injury in 2005, explained why he thought this was so important, saying ‘This is a great opportunity for the smell and taste disorder community to share ways they have found of coping with specific aspects of their condition. A key part of Fifth Sense’s work is creating opportunities for people to share their experiences and support each other, and our Top Tips survey is an important next step in this.’
The results of the survey will be shared via social media and published on the charity’s website  as a series of downloadable information sheets, and will continue to serve as an ever-evolving resource for those seeking advice and tactics for living well, and – equally important, as Boak points out – a place where the smell and taste disorder community can share experiences of what it’s really like to live with an impaired sense of smell or taste.
Have you had a smell disorder, live with someone who does or simply want to find out more? Get in touch with Fifth Sense and join in the discussion!
fifthsense.org.uk
Written by Suzy Nightingale

What is your #LongLostSmell? Fifth Sense (the anosmia charity) would love to know…

… And so would we.

We’ve written about anosmia – the loss of the sense of smell – in the latest Love & Scents edition of The Scented Letter, with a moving article by fragrance blogger Louise Woollam about what happened to her when she developed various ‘smell disorders’ after a virus.

Next Friday (27th February) is actually Anosmia Awareness Day, and in advance of that Duncan Boak – who founded Fifth Sense after he lost his own sense of smell – would like us all to take some time to think and imagine what it would be like to have your sense of smell taken away.

Then ask yourself: what would be your #LongLostSmell? Please tweet that – and they’ll be collated on Storify. (We’ll also be sharing these  #LongLostSmell tweets in a future edition of The Scented Letter.) Just a few examples are featured below – and click on the hashtags here for the latest tweets…

You can Instagram a photo that evokes what you’d miss most, too.

To support Fifth Sense‘s work (which we at The Perfume Society are proud to do), donate here to help raise funds for future research into taste and smell disorders.
And now: close your eyes and imagine that #LongLostSmell

www.fifthsense.org.uk
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A glimpse of Louise Woollam‘s article, which you can read in the Love & Scents edition of The Scented Letter when you’re logged in to our site as a VIP Subscriber
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