Loss of smell and taste

[BigFatHamster]

I haven’t got covid. Been testing because I work in a hospital but I’ve cold a cold. Coughing, sore throat, runny nose etc.
However, this morning I can’t smell or taste.
This happened to me about 18 months ago when I thought I had covid but tested negative on lateral flows and pcr and I had no smell or taste for about 4 or 5 months.
I know this can happen with a cold but it usually clears up when you recover.I’m not particularly bunged up and I’ve had worse colds before and I’m a bit concerned about the smell/taste thing. I know there are worse things to be worried about.

Does this happen to anyone else?

I had this just over a month ago. Had a cold virus, tested at the beginning and was negative for Covid. Didn't bother testing again as didn't seem any point. Cold lasted for about 2 weeks, about 4/5 days in I lost sense of smell/taste. I was worried too, but it started to come back about 2 weeks after I lost it, and now it's back to normal. Give it a couple of weeks before you panic!

Thank you. I do tend to panic about things.
Fingers crossed it comes back.

People don’t realise how bland life can be without the joy of tasting food or smelling nice/not so nice things.
This loss is not always about covid. The common cold can knock out the olfactory nerves in the nose which is what happened to me. I also tested negative on pcr and it was a good few months till it started to come back.
I joined a Facebook page at the time and one of the admins on there, who apparently is a doctor, would not accept it wasn’t covid related. But that’s another story.
I can understand your anxiety OP because every time a get a cold I worry about the same thing.

Well it came back after about 2 weeks but it’s gone again today ☹️. I just cannot seem to shake off this cold or whatever it is. Been about 4 weeks now and I’m sick of it.