Most COVID-19 patients report losing their sense of smell during — and for varying periods after — they recover from the virus, but hope is on the way.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia found “smell training” is the best way to get your lost sense of smell back.
That’s right: just as weight training can help build your muscles, dedicating time to smelling things can help get your sniffer back in shape.
Smell loss expert Professor Carl Philpott from UEA’s Norwich Medical School explains in a university release that corticosteroids have been prescribed to many patients in an effort to control this COVID-19 side effect, but a more effective method — and one that has no side effects, unlike corticosteroids — is smell training.
An experiment conducted by the scientists say smelling four different odors, twice a day for several months, helps the brain get re-synced with your schnozz.
“It has emerged as a cheap, simple and side-effect free treatment,” Professor Philpott says. “It aims to help recovery based on neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to reorganize itself to compensate for a change or injury.”