My Smeller: a COVID casualty

jfreedy

Sooo… I just lost my sense of smell this past Friday evening during our virtual pipe club. I had just commented on how bland the blend was I was smoking when all of us online put two and two together. RATS!! Pipe smoking hasn’t been enjoyable sense. 

How many of you have also ‘suffered’ with this? When did you get your smell (or taste) back? Were there any blends that you COULD taste? 

vtgrad2003

When did you have covid?

Beetleman

Mine was gone four days, but that is something that has varied wildly between people I know. 

jfreedy

@vtgrad2003 - Symptoms started a week ago (I'm on day 8). I lost my sense of smell 4 days ago. 

I'm hoping I'll be like you, @Beetlemanand get it back soon. Pipe smoking's no fun without smell.

utilityworker101

@jfreedy

Lost my smell December 15. Tested positive the 16th. Worst illness and pneumonia I ever had. It’s been coming back slow. Taste is another matter. I smoke now and don’t taste many nuances in tobacco. I can’t smell the tobacco nearly as well either. There are oils that you can get to train your sense of smell to come back. They are:
rose oil
clove
lemon
eucalyptus 

Supposedly if you smell these 4-6 minutes a day for a few weeks  your smell comes back faster. I have them on order and will start when they arrive Friday. It worked for a friend of mines daughter after she had Covid. 

Just my two cents. Hope you get over this quickly!

vtgrad2003

@jfreedy
Okay, well, from the research I've done on this (I know quite a few that have lost their smell although I've never been tested and haven't had issues myself), the loss of smell starts roughly 3 or 4 days after the first sign of symptoms, which fits perfectly with your story, and will last up to 4 weeks, although everyone I know, like @Beetleman , has gotten theirs back far sooner than that. Good luck buddy, I feel for ya. 

My personal remedy for everything is to drink some 120 degree shots of sake...pour a dram and heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds--keep doing that an hour apart until 1/3 of the bottle is gone. If that doesn't work getting your smell back, it will obviously help in other ways    

RockyMountainBriar

Mmmm, warm Saki.  It kinda has a light flavor of what alcoholic marshmallows would taste like.
I had “The Rona”, or so they said, about 10 months ago.  I did not lose either my sense of taste or sense of smell.  All I had was a slight chest cough, fever and chills, and just felt tired as hell for a few days.

Zouave

@jfreedy the good news is I only lost my smell for about a week or so? The bad news is my entire family got covid back in September, and my wife still hasn't gotten her smell back yet.  They told her it could take up to a year. Honestly they have no clue. 

vtgrad2003

@Zouave
These so called "medical professionals" haven't had a clue since this whole thing started; but I guess we'll continue to call it "science". 

Zouave

@vtgrad2003 I just assumed they have a giant dart board at the CDC with different symptoms/treatments on it.

jfreedy

I really appreciate all the input, gentlemen. Fortunately, I’ve already seen some improvement. Stronger blends (with latakia or perique) I can actually smell and enjoy. I really enjoyed a bowl of Dunhill’s Elizabethan Friday night during our virtual pipe club. So, I’d say I’m at around 75% of where I was pre-COVID.

I saw online that continuing with lots of zinc helps restore your olfactory sense. So I’ve been popping lots of zinc lozenges (absorb better than tablets).

I’ll keep you updated on my progress. 

Londy3

@jfreedy
Hope you get your sniffer back and feel much better 😁