Spent a small fortune on Xmas food shop yesterday, and today...

[YellowEllis]

I've woken up with no taste or smell. I can't taste anything at all. Yes, I know what this means. Is it bad that my first thought was about the sourdough, Camembert and chilli jam

Camembert and the chilli jam will keep and freeze the sourdough! I'm absolutely gutted for you, Christmas is the worst time to lose your sense of taste! I'd be putting a household ban on eating the nice foods until your sense of taste returns...seems unfair they get to enjoy it without you 😂😂

@JinglingHellsBells was that sarcasm? Or were you being serious? I hope the former as nothing the OP said indicated that she would be breaking any rules! I think she was having a little joke (crazy concept I know but....)

@JinglingHellsBells

well I hope you are going to a) get a test and b) self isolate along with your family and c) call off any gatherings until you have the results.

What a strangely bossy post

Hope you recover quickly OP, and get to enjoy all your Christmas treats.

@FollowThatStarTonight that was exactly how my Covid started, like a cold. Definitely worth getting a test.

Hope you get a mild dose OP and can enjoy your cheese! My taste came back after 3 days so fingers crossed!

Commiserations, OP!

I did all our alcohol shopping, was v excited about making eggnog, and now this morning after a wisdom tooth flare up have to be on antibiotics with no alcohol allowed!

[quote alittleprivacy]**@callmeadoctor* What is the actual percentage of people with covid then, surely we all starting to completely overreact now? (not saying that you are OP, its just that everyone on here seems to think that "of course u have covid!!!")*

It's actually fucking massive. Yesterday alone, 1 out of every 1,848 people in the UK was a confirmed positive. That's confirmed positive in the 24 hour period that was announced yesterday. It's statistically extremely likely the OP has it.[/quote]
The Office for National Statistics' latest estimate is that 1 in 95 people in England had COVID during the most recent week covered by their dataset. In Wales it's 1 in 90. It's massively high. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/18december2020#number-of-people-in-england-who-had-covid-19

DD says boiling an orange, covering it in cinnamon and then eating the stuff will entice your sense of smell back!? (But do not try it without googling it first.)

I'm on day 4 so not necessarily. I've been doing a LOT of taste tests just to double check

that is just a bastard. hope your taste returns soon so you can enjoy all that food.

@Biffbaff ... foh no. thats shit too. good luck with getting your tooth better.

@JinglingHellsBells

well I hope you are going to a) get a test and b) self isolate along with your family and c) call off any gatherings until you have the results.

Just bugger off to the Coronavirus thread. Jingle miserably there.

Okay...apologies. I didn't appreciate the 'humour' in the first post and thought the OP was underplaying her symptoms and not even acknowledging what she has to do.

@JinglingHellsBells

Okay...apologies. I didn't appreciate the 'humour' in the first post and thought the OP was underplaying her symptoms and not even acknowledging what she has to do.

You didn't appreciate the humour? You sound like a barrel of laughs.

"everyone on here seems to think that "of course u have covid!!!")"

If she has one of the main symptoms, but without a heavy cold or a very blocked nose, it seems to be the most likely explanation doesn't it?

I am absolutely disgusted @YellowEllis that you have not tested your sense of taste with wine. Who cares that it is before midday this is for the purpose of science!!

Joking aside if it's a cold you could try steaming it out? Fingers crossed you are covid free and can enjoy your cheese!

Oh OP you have to laugh at the typically 2020 luck. 🤣😂 I remember a few years ago having to endure Christmas dinner without and taste or smell. It’s crap, like a twisted joke. Merry Christmas 🤭🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼

@FollowThatStarTonight

*When to get a test Get a test as soon as possible if you have any symptoms of coronavirus.

The symptoms are:

a high temperature
a new, continuous cough
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
The test needs to be done in the first 8 days of having symptoms.

You do not need to get a test if you have no symptoms or if you have different symptoms*

I do not have those symptoms. If I had those symptoms I would request a test.

In places where mass testing has been done, lots of people tested positive who didn't have any of those symptoms, but who had other symptoms. However, if those are the NHS's rules...

@callmeadoctor

What is the actual percentage of people with covid then, surely we all starting to completely overreact now? (not saying that you are OP, its just that everyone on here seems to think that "of course u have covid!!!")

That's because sudden loss of smell and taste without any other symptoms are indicative of COVID-19. The most common causes of loss of smell and taste are cold/flu, allergies like hayfever, sinusitis, but it is not common to have no other symptoms with them, or nasal polyps. Rarer causes would be neurological eg brain injury.

I would suggest that it is likely that some of the PPs reporting that they had a negative test after having loss of smell and taste were false negatives. The most accurate tests still have a 20% false negative rate. When the test is performed by someone who is untrained the false negative rate can be much higher, up to 60%.

Hope you get well soon OP

The two people I know who had it just had the mildest of symptoms and wouldn't have thought anything of it any other time. But one worked in a school and the other had school age kids so both got themselves tested and were positive. Most people have mild symptoms, but taste and smell seems to be a fairly common effect.
Both pregnancies ruined the Christmas meal for me - favorite dinner of the year and was nauseous the whole day for both of them.

Just to clarify for all the "it's just a blocked nose" people, it's not that at all. My nose is not even remotely blocked. My sense of smell literally switched off overnight.

"I would suggest that it is likely that some of the PPs reporting that they had a negative test after having loss of smell and taste were false negatives"

I agree with this. Losing taste and smell when you don't have a very blocked nose isn't common is it?

"When the test is performed by someone who is untrained the false negative rate can be much higher, up to 60%."

As all home tests are! This is quite worrying.
Where I am, everyone goes to the test centre meaning that if you don't drive you're on public transport with hundreds of people on your way there. I thought it was mad, but then I saw how hard the test would have been to do to myself (I wanted to slap the nurse). Maybe the home tests aren't really a good idea.

I had this but just before lockdown and before the loss of smell and taste was a well known thing. I didn't realise what had happened at first and had a whole conversation with Dh about how poor quality and tasteless the camembert I'd bought that day was....! . It was only later that day when I poured a glass of red wine and couldn't taste it that I clocked I had no sense of smell or taste!! was devastating (it was a nice red!)

@JinglingHellsBells

well I hope you are going to a) get a test and b) self isolate along with your family and c) call off any gatherings until you have the results.

I bet you’re fun at parties

JinglingHellsBells
well I hope you are going to a) get a test and b) self isolate along with your family and c) call off any gatherings until you have the results.

There's always one isn't there. Where did she say she wasn't going to do that @JinglingHellsBells - oh wait, she didn't.

The day I got it I had made our favourite meal... very annoying... hopefully it doesn’t take to long to come back! Mine was around 5
days when it started to return.... try and wait until you can taste again and enjoy it