If you can’t smell these two things, you probably have COVID-19...

• Loss of smell and taste is among the most commonly reported coronavirus symptoms – and one of the clearest indicators of the likely presence of the COVID-19 virus.
  
• A new study from India took a closer look at this particular coronavirus indicator to see if the loss of the ability to identify certain smells could be an even more obvious symptom of the coronavirus.
• It found that study participants who failed to identify two smells among the five in the study were most likely to test positive for COVID-19.

One of the really bizarre things about the COVID-19 virus at the center of the current global pandemic is how many strange and frightening coronavirus symptoms have manifested in the now millions of victims around the world. Some of them are pretty obvious and make sense that they are symptoms associated with this respiratory virus, such as fever and dry cough, but there are others that people may not even realize are for possible COVID -Diagnosis are relevant.

Loss of your sense of smell or taste is one such coronavirus symptom that more people need to be aware of, largely because it’s basically a big, flashing red indicator light for the possible presence of the virus. According to a current one New York Times In the analysis, nearly 90% of patients reported this symptom, and a study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that about 25% of people diagnosed with coronavirus report this as their symptom one and only Symptom. And now we are learning even more important information about the sense of smell associated with the presence of COVID-19 – especially when people report losing the ability to identify certain smells.

A new study from India attempted to determine whether the loss of certain smells might be more of a warning sign, relying on five common smells that most people there would be familiar with and readily available: peppermint, fennel, coconut oil, garlic, and cardamom . The testers also created a test kit to make things even easier so people can try this test at home.

As mentioned earlier, loss of smell is also among the symptoms reported by people suffering from what is known as “Long COVID”. The results of this study are therefore particularly useful and it was found that:

Study participants who reported having problems with the smell of coconut oil and peppermint were most likely to have a positive COVID-19 test. Almost 25% of the participants couldn’t smell the peppermint and nearly 21% of the participants said they couldn’t smell the coconut oil.

The Vanderbilt team explained why and how a virus can cause loss of smell and taste: “One possibility is that people with upper respiratory tract infections often have congestion, drainage and other nasal symptoms that can block the ability to smell around the olfactory nerve which is located at the top of the nasal cavity. ”

“However, we believe that the main cause, especially in people with prolonged or permanent loss of olfactory function, is that the virus provokes an inflammatory response in the nose that can lead to a loss of olfactory or olfactory neurons.”