鈥業鈥檒l try anything鈥�: How some COVID-19 survivors are learning to smell again
When Stephanie Padden contracted COVID-19 last September, she started out with a cough but thought it could be attributed to California wildfires. She also felt achy but figured it was because she had been helping her son move.
Then, she lost her sense of taste and smell and that gave her pause.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 explain that away,鈥� Padden, 58, said. She went and got tested. It came back positive for COVID-19.
Months later, Padden still hasn鈥檛 fully regained her sense of smell.
鈥業鈥檒l try anything鈥�
鈥淚鈥檒l try anything, and I鈥檝e tried a lot of things,鈥� she said. Zinc, Vitamin D3, cinnamon capsules and fish oil to name a few.
Certain techniques are more far-fetched than others. , some people have been charring oranges, peeling the skin and mixing the fruit with brown sugar. That method did not work for Padden.
In her dogged search for answers, she came across UC Davis Health鈥檚 . Experts there are examining those who have survived the virus but suffer lingering symptoms.
Eventually, she was able to enroll and was connected with Dr. Toby Steele, an assistant professor of otolaryngology who has been treating patients who are suffering from loss of sense of smell, known as anosmia.
One of the smell-retraining methods he recommended to her was something she had encountered in her own research. It鈥檚 called olfactory training.
鈥淥lfactory training is essentially based on this principle that you can practice smelling. And by practice smelling you can sort of regenerate some of those smell nerves,鈥� he said.
As part of this smell training, he has his patients purchase four different essential oils 鈥� rose, eucalyptus, lemon and clove. Two times a day, they are to smell one oil for 10 to 15 seconds, let their mind rest and then move on to the next oil.
鈥淎nd what that鈥檚 doing is sort of reestablishing that processing center and reteaching your brain to sort of understand what these smells are,鈥� Steele said.
A second therapy, which doesn鈥檛 have as much scientific backing, is a sinus wash with a medicine that decreases inflammation.
鈥淲e know that setting up this environment where the smell nerves can function helps you succeed with olfactory training,鈥� Steele said.
鈥榊ou鈥檙e missing more than you know鈥�
For Padden and the many other COVID-19 survivors who haven鈥檛 fully regained their sense of smell, it鈥檚 been frustrating and saddening at times.
Some 86% of people with mild coronavirus cases lose their sense of smell and taste but recover it within about six months, . Their sense of smell returned after about 18 to 21 days, the study found, but about 5% of people had not recovered olfactory function at six months.
also noted that only about 4% to 7% of people with COVID-19 symptoms described as moderate or severe lost their ability to smell and taste.
, a Roseville, California, pastor and coffee shop owner, contracted COVID-19 in November. He still can鈥檛 smell and taste like he once did.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like the difference between eating a fresh orange and eating something that鈥檚 flavored with orange,鈥� said Lickter, who鈥檚 also been dealing with other long-term symptoms like fatigue and exhaustion.
Like Padden, Angelo Torres, 31, of Stockton, California, suspected he had COVID-19 once he couldn鈥檛 smell or taste food. He remembers the moment vividly: An order from Wingstop that was seemingly devoid of flavor or appetizing smell.
That was in spring of last year. As of last week, certain foods still didn鈥檛 taste the same. Torres says he also still gets random bouts of fatigue.
There鈥檚 a safety aspect associated with being able to smell, too. Sense of smell helps people gauge when food may be spoiled. Smelling smoke could also alert you to a nearby fire. , a family who lost their sense of smell because of COVID-19 nearly died when a blaze tore their house and they didn鈥檛 smell the smoke.
Beyond that, being able to smell certain things is simply just nice sometimes.
Padden, who cross-country skis in Minnesota during the winter, can鈥檛 smell the pine while she recreates.
鈥淭here鈥檚 comforting things, like when you come home to your house and it smells like your house, or you kiss your husband and he smells like his aftershave or his deodorant,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ust the comforting things that you know you hold onto 鈥� you鈥檙e devoid of all of it. It just leaves a really weird, unsettling, uncomfortable 鈥� you鈥檙e missing something. You鈥檙e missing more than you know.鈥�
鈥楧on鈥檛 give up鈥�
Padden, however, says she has reason for optimism in her quest to smell again.
A few weeks ago, she thought she was able to detect the odors of essential oils she had been sniffing. So she blindfolded herself and had her husband test her. She identified them correctly.
鈥淓ither that鈥檚 working or maybe it鈥檚 coming back on its own,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 hard to say. But I definitely think that smell training seems to be helping because the more I do it, the stronger then scent seems to me.鈥�
She says she鈥檚 been experiencing parosmia, a distorted sense of smell. That could be an encouraging sign.
鈥淭he people who have persistent smell loss, and we鈥檙e talking on the sort of duration of months, are often describing what we call phantosmias or parosmias, and these are these sort of phantom odors like you smell cigarette smoke or you smell the sewer and sometimes that鈥檚 a precursor to return of sense of smell,鈥� Steele said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 what a lot of patients will describe to me, but that鈥檚 also an area under study.鈥�
For people who had COVID-19 months ago and still can鈥檛 smell properly, Steele says there鈥檚 still hope.
鈥淒on鈥檛 give up. There are reports of people regaining their smell after two years, and what we tend to see is some type of regrowth after a year,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o if it鈥檚 been three months, the window for recovery hasn鈥檛 elapsed yet.鈥�
COVID-19 has also put a spotlight on the work of doctors like Steele. What used to be a niche field 鈥渋s now being recognized in scientific communities and funded for research.鈥�
鈥淎nd so we will likely come out of this with some excellent new therapies for loss of smell,鈥� Steele said.
CNN contributed to this report.