Loss of smell / long covid?

[Suzysuz]

I had the virus at Christmas and was quite unwell for a couple of weeks, no hospital thankfully but it was horrible.

My sense of smell has still not fully returned... taste did (for which I'm grateful!) but smell still hasn't, I can only smell really really strong smells that are literally right under my nose.

I'm grateful it's just smell as know there are some awful long covid symptoms, but wondered if anyone the same for smell, did it return?

My sense of smell took a good 8-9 months to fully return.

I had Covid at Christmas and would say 75% of my sense of smell is still gone. Taste is recovering better.

Had covid at the start of the year. Loss completely my sense of smell and taste.
(only symptom so I consider myself lucky)
Taste is back mostly, smell is partially back. Like you I can smell only things right under my nose. Also some things that I can smell are different as how I remember, like garlic and onion smell very acrid and sour, not how I remember them

Thank you! I shall remain hopeful it may still come back.... 🤞

I lost my sense of taste and smell after suspected covid in March 2020. ( no tests were available then). They are still healing. I have most of my sense of taste back, and some of my sense of smell. I am sometimes overwhelmed by smells that don’t actually exist. Which is weird, and disconcerting.

Google "smell training". My DD and a friend both lost their sense of smell from COVID. Smell training helped them both regain it. We bought the essential oils and jars you need on Amazon. Good luck.

Lost most smell and not back 15 months on.

‘Smell training’ is woo.

I feel for you. I had it in March 2020 (no tests) and like you @0None0 I still smell weird phantom smells that everyone else in the house insists aren’t there. Taste took about 6 months to come back fully for me, smell was about another month or so after that.
On the plus side, my DH caught Covid for a second time (works in NHS, got Kent variant) in Jan and I - despite being CEV, shielding, immunocompromised- did not catch it that time. So maybe I still had antibodies. Other long Covid symptoms have improved a little since I was vaccinated but maybe my sense of smell is always going to be a bit weird now!

Had covid last March and long covid. Still no sense of smell in one side only (one nostril works ok) - took me 8 months to work out it was one side not working at all

(Meant March 2020 sorry)

I had Covid in January 2021 and completely lost my sense of smell. One nostril now works ok but I can smell very little out of the other. Has anyone else experienced this and fully recovered? I am so desperate to get back to normal.

@vickemma I'm 17 months since I had covid and still have no sense of smell in one nostril, it's never come back. The other one is ok now. Hope yours recovers soon

@minimoojo I am really sorry to hear that. Did you have any other symptoms other than smell loss? My only symptom was smell loss. Have you tried smell training?

@vickemma I had loads of the symptoms listed on Zoe app over about 3 months from last March til May, then had long covid. I'm 99% better but still have a few niggling things left, like my sense of smell not having come back properly. I test it out regularly but it really feels like something has completely switched off on one side, if that makes sense!

(I mean last March 2020 is when I started with covid, then had long covid for over a year)

Ask your GP for a prescription of budesonide nasal spray. It doesn't fix it permanently but it helps a lot.

Thank you, will give it a try!

Hope everyone sees an improvement soon. I lost both but only a week ago and sense of smell is coming back very very gradually but absolutely no taste yet.

Can I ask if you lose smell does that mean you'll lose taste. Tested positive on Friday and no smell today but can still taste, though it may be milder.