Anyone else having parosmia since having COVID?

[Lumie9]

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this as it’s driving me crazy.

Husband and I both had COVID back in March and experienced total loss of smell and taste for about 3 weeks. It really was a total loss - I couldn’t taste anything, couldn’t smell my kids’ nappies, nothing. It was a really unsettling experience.

Both senses did slowly return once we had recovered, but we’ve since noticed that things smell and taste...different. Specifically, we have noticed that we can often smell what we call “hot garbage”, a sort of savoury, onion-like smell. We both get it with cooking smells in general, and most disturbingly, with ourselves... we’ve both noticed that when we’re a bit sweaty, we no longer smell of ordinary BO, but we smell of “The Smell” as we call it. It is so, so strange and we were amazed when we talked about it a few weeks ago that we were both experiencing the same thing. Totally uncanny. Of course we’ve no way of knowing that we are smelling exactly the same smell, but my husband agrees with my hot garbage/onion comparison.

I’ve read that it could be due to the lockdown changing our microbiome (because we are not mixing with other people) which is making us personally smell different, but that doesn’t explain why we’re also experiencing “The Smell” from cooking smells and also whilst out and about. We keep getting wafts of it during the day, turning to each other and saying, “can you smell The Smell?! Yes!!!”. It’s almost like the way our brain is interpreting smells has changed, if that makes sense.

My husband thinks it’s funny and is choosing to ignore it, but I’m finding it quite distressing to be honest. I’ve always had a very keen sense of smell and am a bit of a foodie, and it’s changing the way I smell and taste anything. I can’t get away from it.

I’m not sure it’s something I should bother the GP with, as I’m still hopeful that it will fade with time, but I’d be interested to know if anyone has experienced similar?

Thanks for reading!

I could have written @Beadlet 'a post, I had Covid in March too and thought my sense of smell was coming back slowly- then in last few weeks things just smell revolting. Even filling my car up, the petrol smelled like greasy rancid butter.

It's quite reassuring to know I'm not alone in this but I'm sorry people are have to deal with this.

Interesting article - www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-53903804

I'm getting a bit sick of the constantly changing tastes and smells.
The last couple of weeks or so I've had the nasty smell taste like rotting meat and onions especially when eating meat.
But the last three days even drinks taste odd. At work I had apple mango squash, tasted great at lunch, then mid afteroon I drank more, only it smelled and tasted like smoke. Even had a co worker smell it in casr it was me.
Today Tea is giving me a vile after taste and my moring coffee was also odd.
You think all this would make me eat and drink less and I'd actually lose weight. Oh hell no cause biscuiits smell fine and Mash potatoes taste good.

I’m experiencing the same as many of you. Since Covid in March (confirmed antibody test), many things smell disgusting. Coffee, onions, garlic and soy sauce are awful - like a vomit smell that’s rancid and sweet. I’ve thrown away many shower gels/face washes as they’re awful.

The worst bit is that my sweat/bodily fluid also smells completely disgusting. If I eat onions or garlic I end up spending the next few days smelling of “the smell” as others have called it. (dH assures me he can’t smell anything).

I know this thread is oldish, but I've been looking for anyone with similar symptoms. Me and DH had suspected Covid in March/April. We both had loss of taste and smell for 6 weeks. When it came back we could taste and smell normally. Anyway, since the beginning of August my taste and smell have been off, DH is fine.
Yoghurt/Milk is a bit perfumey although cups of tea taste ok thank god!!
Coffee smells awful, a bit like meat. Fruit is perfumey, esp strawberries and apple. Mango and Banana is not too bad.
I had corned beef last week and it tasted really awful. Ditto sardines.
Had full bloods recently too for something else and a dental check up, all fine.
Just wondering how everyone is getting on with this. I've never had anything like this before.

I have this...often feel like I can taste perfume in my mouth? Also can smell random burning and horrible rotting smells just randomly...had covid in march

shoofle It's just awful isn't it!? I didn't give it much thought when it first started. Here's hoping it doesn't drag on too long for either of us.

Omg ! Can’t believe I’m reading this . I had Covid( confirmed by AB test ) just as lockdown started , I lost smell and taste a week in ( so not an indicator as I was already ill). Forward 6 months still no taste at all but the only smell I get is ....bins! So I smell flowers .. bins ... perfume.... bins . I find it unbearable when wearing a mask.

GP basically not interested , it was their suggestion that I got an AB test ( the said they would provide and then didn’t so I paid ) because at that point they wanted to rule out other causes like brain tumour etc etc .

I know I’m lucky that I recovered, but I don’t think people understand how joyless loss or distortion of smell/ taste is .

Hope it gets better for us all x

I kept smelling smoke but it’s stopped now. I also had a brief period where everything tasted like metallic/chemical poo - the nastiest taste I’ve ever experienced I think.

I kept smelling smoke but it’s stopped now.

Same here. A log had dropped forward. DH pushed it back and it's alight now.

This is interesting. My mum lost her sense of smell years and years ago for several months and when it returned she said everything smelled of rotten cabbage.

So it’s not a uniquely Covid thing.

to all affected-it does sound miserable

I think I had COVID in March and lost my sense of smell. It's still not really back. Occasionally things taste odd too, especially milk chocolate unfortunately! I describe the taste as 'covidy'. Thankfully not a poo taste as others have described, but still not very nice! For a while, strong smells smelled like burnt cinnamon. Nice to hear from other people in a similar situation.

@shoofle

I have this...often feel like I can taste perfume in my mouth? Also can smell random burning and horrible rotting smells just randomly...had covid in march

I have been having this, how weird. I had to come downstairs the other night and check everything in the house was OK as I thought I smelled burning. The other thing I keep thinking I smell is tobacco. Not cigarette smoke actual tobacco. But no one I am in touch with smoked. I’ve not been diagnosed with Covid but I was sick with a weird bug in Feb

I think it's not uncommon with other viruses, but it's one of those things that doesn't sound that bad but is actually really disconcerting to experience! Especially since I keen thinking my kitchen is on fire when it isn't due to the smoke I can randomly smell

I had COVID, mildly in March. During lockdown I found that I loved the taste of Celery, couldn’t abide it before!
Also, when I eventually put on some perfume it had a greater depth of scents, not different but levels of notes that I couldn’t smell before.

@shoofle

I keep smelling burning too, and gas. Dp can't smell much still at all 6 months on. Both had suspected covid in March