What was altered/loss of smell/taste like for you?

[Mumof3andlovingit]

If you had covid, did you have complete loss of sense of smell and taste?
DS is 9 and he is saying he can smell, but it’s a bit off and can only smell really strong smells (aftershave) Says he can taste a little, but food tastes blandish today and not how it should be? Negative lateral flow.
He had a cold 2 weeks ago and is recovering. At the time we had a negative pcr. He’s still got a bunged up nose though.
I’ve got another pcr booked for him tomorrow morning. Just curious what others experiences were like.

I still had my sense of taste but my sense of smell disappeared completely. I had no congestion at all, if anything my nose was quite dry, but it no longer worked for any smell.

I only realised it had gone when I chipped an onion and thought afterwards that is managed to do that without my eyes watering at all. Apparently if you can't smell onions don't make your eyes water.

Thankfully it came back after about 4 or 5 days but took a while to get back to normal. Even now, 8 months on, I've realised that I still can't really smell garlic village well.

I found the loss of smell really unsettling - I kept opening new pints of milk to add to my tea because I couldn't tell if the milk was ok or not.

@Lindy2 it was very unsettling wasn't it, and I'm still not sure mine is entirely back again. I was forever checking the cooker to make sure it was off properly and asking my DC if they could smell gas! I also burned more food than I'd care to mention because I couldn't smell when it was done!

I lost the smell completely for 3 days, but it started coming back on the 4th day. Then, it was very fast to regain it and I was probably be able to get it 100% after 6 days.
Taste was different, sweet wasn’t altered at all and I could taste it full. Everything else was bitter. Even when I tried pure salt it was bitter! Took a bit longer to come back, but no more than 10 days in total

Both me and DH lost smell + taste completely and then it came back totally normally within a week or so. No weird after tastes or anything, it was just like when it goes with a cold really, except we didn't have the blocked nose etc that usually causes it.

I didn’t realise my smell had gone until I left a pan on the hob and completely burnt it. Quite scary. I’m 2 weeks in and I still can’t smell. I can taste sweet and spicy but not much else

I haven't had covid so couldn't say but I always lose my smell and taste with an average cold or throat infection so it might not be covid - more likely just from the binged up nose.
I had a bad throat last Christmas pcr and reduced sense of smell and taste - pcr negative. My taste was on and off for a month. So other viruses can do the same. But with covid I believe it's likely to be completely gone without a blocked nose..

I'm on day 15, and I would say now I can taste sweet things slightly (fruit is disgusting though). Before that I could only taste (lots of) salt and black pepper.

I can smell some things now, I have a cupboard full of wax melts and candles which normally smells lovely every time I open it. For over a week I couldn't smell anything, but yesterday I had a slight whiff of it. And I've put perfume on today and can smell it, vaguely.

Not being able to taste stuff has meant I'm not really eating that much.

Day 9 of covid and can't smell a thing. We've some tea tree and mint shower gel which is usually really strong.... smells of absolutely nothing.

Usual foods taste weird, tried to eat some lemon sponge last night and it tasted awful, kind of metallic.

On the plus side I've lost five pounds!

I've had reduced smell and taste with a cold but that's absolutely nothing like what you have with covid. It's like those two sense just cease existing completely, and I found it actually quite frightening. After day 10 I was worried it would never come back, quite panicked at the idea. I think it was around the 14 day mark that I finally noticed it returning. 7 months later it's still not quite right but I'm hoping it will come back fully with time.

Horrible burning sensation up my nose and couldn't smell anything! Not even bleach or hot chilli etc. Sense of taste was very basic, just sweet, salty or sour. No actual flavour. It all started to come back about day 12/13 but slowly.

I lost my sense of smell for about 3 weeks. Nothing: neat zoflora, dog food, nothing.
It did impact on my sense of taste. I ate a lot of feta, olives and salty food as I could taste them properly.

It’s horribly unnerving because it’s not like when you have a cold and you’re nose is blocked where you can’t smell or taste, this is like your brain just shut off it’s ability to do the jobs. My taste is still iffy several weeks later and sometimes my food tastes bland when I know how it should really be.

No, nothing at all like having a cold. Literally just like those senses have switched off entirely. I remember going round the house sticking my nose in toiletries and bars of soap and disinfectant - things that would normally have a strong smell. Just hoping for a whiff! And there's just nothing. The first time I got a slight smell of toothpaste .. overwhelming relief! I lost around 5/6 pounds in weight because food was just stuff to chew and all the enjoyment in it was gone,

Total loss for me and it was sudden onset, not like reduced and then gone, one meal it was there, the next gone completely. Lasted about 5 days which I think makes me one of the lucky ones as it was by far the worst bit for me!

My taste and smell went completely overnight. I can't smell a thing still but I can now taste salt and sweet. But not flavours. It is very upsetting and interesting how these things make you hungry. Now I only know I'm hungry because my stomach makes a noise.

Smell - Totally lost, couldn't smell anything at all...tried coffee/spices/perfume/Olbas Oil etc and absolutely nothing! It's now been 2 weeks since I tested positive and I'm starting to be able to smell strong scents such as perfume and Olbas Oil but they smell chemically rather than fragrant, I maybe have 30% of my sense of smell now

Taste - Dulled but not lost...I could taste if something was sweet or salty etc but not the actual flavour, everything also tasted very bland. This seems to have resolved quicker and I'm more or less back to normal now, probably around 85%

I've lost mine now. Weirdly my sense of smell went first last night. I put olbas oil on my pillow and couldn't smell it, but could still taste. Woke up with neither. So sad!!

My loss of taste and smell was immediate. I could taste my food in the morning but by the afternoon it had completely gone. I'm on day three and feel like I have a bad cold but otherwise fine. How long the loss of taste and smell takes to come back is what worries me the most.

Test is back as negative! Phew….until next time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Scary how some of you describe it as sudden loss. I would be so anxious if that happened (no doubt it will at some point when I catch it)