Help me smell again PLEASE

[Schoolio1]

On day 7 of isolation, and it's just been a bloody nightmare. Very gradually getting better, but it's a very slow process. In 3 days my isolation period ends and I'm expected to go back to work but I'm in no way physically ready to go back, I'm barely functioning at home. What did you do? Did you recover fully? Did you take more time off? If so how? Did you require a sick note?

The main this getting to me atm is not being able to smell anything at all. I miss smelling LO. I'm just really paranoid about personal hygiene, I'm a clean person shower twice a day and all the rest but not being able to smell has seriously thrown me off so much and is causing me great anxiety.
Any tips to help me smell again.

I practiced sniffing - half an onion, various spices, strong perfume, lemons etc. I’m not sure it helped, but it meant that I was able to tell when my sense of smell started to return and this gave me such a strong sense of relief.

Get a sick note to extend your sick leave and don't rush back. Covid has a long tail and if you overdo it at the beginning of your recovery it can make it longer. I have long Covid and it has been and continues to be a hard road to recovery.

abscent.org/learn-us/smell-training Smell training will help with your smell. Mine is improving with smell training, but it is still not fully back after 9 months. It probably would have returned quicker if I had known about smell training earlier in my recovery.

Following as I'm day 8 with no smell and taste and it's distressing me.

@badsmallwyf

I used half a bottle of bleach in the bathroom and could smell it, I only realised I was using too much wen my eyes started stinging. I cooked a curry yesterday and ended up burning the onion, I couldn't smell that i had burnt it.

Earlier on out of desperation I kept sniffing all my perfumes hoping I may get a faint smell. I think I did a very weak faint smell , but it could just be my brain playing tricks on me.

I keep thinking I'll end up straining my nasal muscles or something and make it worse.

@Choconuttolata

Thank you so much will look into this.
What can you smell now? Is like strong smells?

@ShaneTheThird

Following as I'm day 8 with no smell and taste and it's distressing me.

I cant taste either but I dont mind that too much. I only eat little now as I feel full after only a few bites. Hopefully this will help me lose a few pounds

Hope you feel better soon op. My isolation ends today (yay) still have a cough, swollen nose and breathing feels strained. But definitely lack of taste and smell is the worst. I have zero appetite and part of it is because I can't taste eating is a chore. I've lost about a stone and now my engagement ring keeps slipping off.

I can smell stronger smells now, my taste was also affected and that has now improved too. At first I couldn't taste curry. I struggle to smell off food so have to be careful. I also get random phantom smoke smells that started when my smell started to return after about 4-5 months.

After 7 months my 15 year old son’s sense of smell started to come back, and it was back to normal in 9 months.

Smell and taste came back after about 2 to 3 weeks.

Loss if smell for about 14 days for me

Could you be anaemic?
Iron or maybe b12

You seem to be at the same state as me .

Day 8 - still heavy cold symptoms although no fever now. But total loss of taste and smell.

Why would the OP be anaemic @HSHorror? She's got COVID and has lost her sense of smell which is a really common symptom.

7 weeks post Covid here and I still haven't got my smell and taste back properly, it's better but I'd say only 50% of what it was. It's the strangest thing.

I had covid 7 weeks ago still no smell and taste to the point I was cutting an onion made me cry but I couldn't smell a thing 🤦‍♀️

Because covid can cause anaemia

I felt the same OP, taking iron helped me a lot. But you’ll just have to let work know you are not 100% better, it’s not your fault. My smell/taste is still 80% gone after almost 4 weeks. I’m only just recovered after Covid and still feel weak. Just take it easy & don’t be too hard on yourself.

I am 6 days post isolation (does that make sense?)
I still cant smell or taste, but I am getting wafts of strong smells if i stick my nose right in. Still no taste.
I am sort of getting used to it though its really weird and unhelpful when cooking etc and I worry about not smelling a fire!
I am less worried about it now I can tell that it is coming back though I think it will be slow.

Also, call your Dr and get a sick note. I am only just starting to feel more normal and gone back to work though I am tired easily and my head is still a bit foggy.

Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you for the advice.

I know I just have to suck it up and be patient. I hate how I'm just so tired and breathless all the time. My head still feels a bit foggy and hazy and just not me. I guess it will just take time.

That sounds awful. I just want to say that if you're showering twice a day and using deodorant, you can feel fairly confident that you yourself don't smell, so try not to worry about that aspect.

I'm on day 10, luckily I don't need to go back into an office but if you aren't well get a sick note from your GP.

If you are showering once a day you definitely won't smell so don't worry about that.

My taste / smell is slowly starting to come back, if I blow my nose a lot before I eat I can taste bits of it. I have taken lots of cold and flu tablets, cough medicine, nasal spray and those have helped decongest me. I still don't feel great, today room was spinning a lot of day, oxygen sats were at 93/94 when lying down and I was sick but then had a Chinese meal and some cold flu tablets and drank lots and feel quite a lot better. Hope you feel better soon.

You just need to be patient with the smell thing, mine didn't fully return until about a month later.