Cara Cunningham, Community Dietitian
A loss of smell and taste is a common early symptom of Covid-19, happening in over half of people with the virus.
Issues with your smell/taste can affect your appetite, this at a time when you need to be eating well to help with your recovery. You may have lost your taste and smell completely, foods may taste really bland or may taste metallic or highly salty; these are all issues reported by people who have had Covid-19.
Whilst you may not be able to smell or taste your food you can still ‘feel’ textures and temperatures of foods, so try eating a variety of hot, cold or crunchy foods may also be good to bring some sensory enjoyment, i.e. flavoured crackers, rice crackers, flapjack, popcorn etc.
You could also try heightening flavours by experimenting with different herbs and spices which might bring back a little bit of eating pleasure! What your food looks like is so important, so presenting food in an attractive way may help.
It is best to go for smaller amounts of food, which can tempt your appetite back, you can always go back for more! If you are experiencing a metallic taste from your food, it may help to eat with plastic cutlery.
It can be very frustrating as recovery of smell taste can take time but latest studies show that up to 80 percent of people get their senses back two months after their illness (95 percent by 6 months ).
Things you can do to help include smell training - https://abscent.org/learn-us/smell-training; https://www.fifthsense.org.uk/smell-training/ - this training looks at using smells to ‘train’ your nose to smell again.
Variety is the spice of life and is definitely the way to go with what you eat. It may take a bit of perseverance especially when you’re having trouble with your taste/ smell but by eating well you can support your return to your full and healthy self.
If you are reading this article and have experienced a sudden or unexpected loss of taste or smell this could be the sign that you have Covid-19. You should self-isolate and contact your GP (by phone ) to arrange a Covid-19 test.
