I recently contracted Covid, and finally started to test negative yesterday evening! Made me feel very unwell for a couple of days, it has completely wiped me out though even now, and caused an asthma flare which steroids and inhalers seem to have kept under some control so definitely well on the mend… however I was just wondering if anyone else who has had Covid lost their smell and taste, and how long did it take to come back? I’m not massively bothered with food, as I’m finding I’m actually eating more healthier choices as I’m not being influenced by tastes or craving particular things, however I am absolutely desperate to have a cup of tea that doesn’t taste like dishwater! I am trying to get as many different people’s experiences as possible in terms of how long until taste returned to normal and if there was anything that helped them? Also wondered if being on a steroid inhaler (I’m on Fostair) makes any difference too, and I am also on Dymista nasal spray…
I am on Fostair and also going thru Covid. Yes, I can taste nothing, though my smell seems to be working, though I keep smelling an unpleasant smell, so could be the covid too. Keep taking ur Fostair. I have ran out but spoke to doc who told me I am ok to take old med until I get new one tomorrow. Terrible time to catch it though. My whole house is down, so no Christmas this year for us. This is 2nd time I have had it, tho different strain. 1st one was Delta but I could taste with that one, but not so Omicrom. I think everyone reacts to it differently, but loss of taste& smell is a big one with Covid.
Sorry to hear you’re going through it too, first time for me and it’s pretty rough isn’t it, I hope you’re doing okay and feeling better soon! Yes it’s rough timing isn’t it! My family haven’t come down with it yet, although they were unwell on a cruise they recently went on (I was working and house\pet sitting) so I’m beginning to wonder if they had it then and fingers crossed they’ll be ok! We nearly lost my Mum over Christmas 2 years ago when both she and my Dad caught it so it’s a very scary time to get it for sure!
Ahh how annoying the strange smell, I can’t smell anything at all but strange smells sounds even worse!
Hope you’re all feeling better soon and manage to have some form of Christmas, thank you for replying!
We caught Delta 4 weeks before they admitted it was in the UK. Jeez, I'd not wish that on my worst enemy. Hubby has emphysema and was delirious. I swear our flu jabs helped us, that and inhalers. December 2019 - nearly 2 months after it escaped the lab. 24 hours and it can be here by plane, and hospital backed our theory up, as they too lost a lot of elderly (care home), and it was there I caught it. Plus we have people from Wuhan who had been visiting their family... Ur taste and smell usually come back, so hopefully soon for you. x
I agree it was definitely here before they officially said it was, my Auntie and Uncle were both extremely poorly December 2019 too and we’d put money on it being one of the earlier strains! I am so grateful I managed to hold out until after I had all of the available vaccines for sure!
Hi Nicki-Lou, I also lost my sense of smell with covid, taste not so much, but it took a couple of weeks after I had tested negative for those senses to return fully. What is interesting is that since I have had covid my experience is I seem to have become super sensitive to smells and I seem to have developed a heightened sense of smells which no one else around me can smell. (eg..I will randomly be aware of wafts of smoke or toast etc. I often have days when there is a particular smell that I am aware of for most of the day, however I can't always describe it. Hope your sense of smell and taste return soon and you continue to feel better.
Thank you! That’s very interesting about being more sensitive to smells since recovery, quite a few friends who have had it have had similar experiences, particularly when their senses returned!
Hi Nicky Lou. I currently still have covid, testing pos now day 11. I lost my taste and smell completely, but noticed yesterday for the first time that I could smell coffee and hand-wash slightly. Apparently everyone varies in their timing before it returns, and it could be up to a mo th, but it DOES return for the great majority. This happened to my friend too, hers returned.....but now she cannot stand the smell of dishcloths :-). Get well soon.
Sorry to hear you’re going through Covid too, hope you’re doing okay and recovering! I think mine was day 10 or 11 before the line started to get feint, hang on in there it won’t be much longer!
Ooh that’s good news, I got excited on Friday because I went down to the kitchen and my Mum was making bacon sandwiches, it wasn’t particularly strong, more of a waft when I went in the kitchen, but enough for me to just about figure out it was bacon… but then nothing!
Good luck with your recovery, thank you for replying!
WHO say this re how infectious you are - "On average, people are contagious for 5 to 10 days.12 Oct 2022" U can still be showing Positive because of antibodies in ur body. Hope ur thru it soon.
I'm pretty sure I had Covid in late December 2019 (I'd had contact with someone who'd flown in from China four days before I went down with 'the flu'), and I lost my taste and smell for several weeks. When it did come back, I wished it hadn't, because everything smelled of urine or faeces! It went away gradually, becoming more and more intermittent. I was pretty much back to normal after 6 months, but I did find that my taste & smell went haywire again if I got very tired. I think it was about 9 months before I stopped getting any kind of recurrence. I pretty much lived on curries for the first few weeks, because they were the only things that tasted remotely normal.
I had 'definite' Covid in March this year, after vaccination. It took me 13 days to test negative, and I was pretty much back to normal taste wise by that point.
Thank you! It’s reassuring to hear other’s experiences and that it does seem to come back it just takes time! That sounds awful though everything smelling horrible, I’m glad it eventually settled for you though!
I finally started testing negative Saturday afternoon so hopefully that’s it now and I can just focus on recovery and getting my energy levels back up, I’m still completely wiped out!
I had covid for the first time in July this year, I completely lost my sense of taste and smell. It was about 2 weeks after my negative test before they started coming back. Thankfully they're both completely back to normal now. One of my colleagues' daughter has had altered taste and smell for about 9 months since having covid 😮😮
Thank you for your reply! That’s great it came back pretty soon after your negative test, a lot of people I’ve spoken to have said the same about it returning it just takes a little bit of time! I’m still waiting and nothing yet by only started testing negative since the weekend and I’m still pretty congested! Oh wow, 9 months, that must have been horrible, I’m desperate for a cup of tea that doesn’t taste like dishwater and 9 months sounds awful! I seem to be on the mend now, apart from being congested and still have a bit of a cough, but it has completely wiped me out, I have 0 energy and I’m due back at work tomorrow which I’m dreading because I know it’ll wipe me out even more (although the way I’m feeling I don’t think that’s even possible haha!)
Thank you for your reply, it’s great and really reassuring to hear others who’ve been through it too and come through it.
I did loose both partly. the first I noticed was that tea tasted foul. For me it helped if I used tea spices. I didn't need to for so very long. However, last time I encountered a proper rose, back end of September, I still couldn't smell it and I think my sense of smell and taste has reduced, even though overall it has come back. Just not quite were it was. I had covid in mid August, and I got properly ill, though my asthma behaved (a slight peakflow dip), but I am on a high Fostair dose. A major symptom for me was my git and digestion and loss of appetite.
I haven't lost smell or taste but I was already on Prednisolone because of a virus/chest infection, so that may have protected my senses, if anything my sense of smell is better than usual. I did read that sense of smell training was a thing for treating long term affects of covid.
Thank you for your reply! It’s horrible isn’t it… I can now occasionally get a waft of a very strong smell for a second or two but that’s it, and sometimes I might be able to slightly taste the first mouthful of something but again just very slight for a second or two… like you my nose is clear too..
I hope you get your smell and taste back too! I guess it just takes time doesn’t it..
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