We social distance, usually wear masks in public, and stay up to date on our vaccinations. But all it took was one lady with a mean cough on a two hour flight a week ago to ruin that…or so we think.

The timing really sucks. I had plans for my weekend.

  • plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 month ago

    Same here - was real careful for years and got it for the first time a few weeks ago. Stuff still doesn’t taste right.

    • VoilaChihuahua@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      After my ability to smell and taste were completely gone for 2 months I got bummed out enough to try smell training. I didn’t buy the expensive kits, but did find strongly scented aromatherapy wax sticks that I sniff every day. If nothing else, going from “these all smell like nothing” to “oh that IS lemongrass or ginger” definitely brightened my mood. It’s been 6 months now and I still can’t taste tomato or smell lavender, but can now easily detect things like nail polish remover and eucalyptus oil. It’s weird to take a strong whiff of rubbing alcohol and not notice a single thing. Good luck!

      • plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 month ago

        Oh wow - I got lucky then. It was a week of everything tasting like metal at first. It’s still there now but like “at the edges” of the tongue if that makes any sense. There’s a patch in the middle that’s able to pick out ingredients / attributes well enough to enjoy some things again.

        Thank you for sharing - and good luck to you too.

      • sverit@lemmy.ml
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        1 month ago

        Exactly the same here. I tried to train my smell with essential oils like lavender, lemongrass, orange, etc. It took sooo long for me to smell anything at all. I am still just at around 70% of my ability to smell before covid, and it’s been over a year now :/

        • VoilaChihuahua@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Yeah I’m not 100% and it was unsettling how down I was getting about it. My boss still can’t taste red meat 2 years later…I need to taste tomatoes again, they are my favorite. I hope your smell continues to return and you are fully recovered!

          • TheBraveSirRobbin@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            Do you, or have you ever had a fear from not being able to smell? Not having that in case of a fire or gas leak would freak me out but I never hear people talking about that

            • VoilaChihuahua@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Funnily enough I was concerned about only my smells, I still have my wonderful husband sniff me if I’m unsure whether I warrant a shower. I’m more concerned about eating spoiled food, so he’ll smell that for me as well. I guess I was also unconsciously banking on him being our gas / fire detector. And now I sound like a racoon, never showering, eating garbage, living in squalor.

    • Lichen The Kitchen@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      Hopefully you get your taste back fully in the coming months. I had COVID the first year in October, and it kicked my ass real good. It took a few months for mine to come back to what seems fully.

    • Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Is it still the case that not your smelling receptors are impaired, but that the virus crosses the blood-brain barrier and destroys/knocks out the brain region responsible for smelling.