11 ms·

Taste is highly related to smell, and smell is related to congestion symptoms that are typical for respiratory diseases. Taste and smell loss happens with cold

Taste is highly related to smell, and smell is related to congestion symptoms that are typical for respiratory diseases. Taste and smell loss happens with cold and flu as well, since they are also respiratory diseases: [1] > The exact mechanism behind post-viral anosmia [smell/taste loss] isn’t yet understood, but it is clear that the various viruses that cause the common cold, including flu, somehow damage and interfere with the olfactory epithelium Let's not get carried away with the Covid fear hysteria. This is just an example of a risk that already existed that was never on society's collective radar. Moreover, it's only been a few weeks or months. It's entirely likely that the taste/smell loss is temporary. [1] https://www.fifthsense.org.uk/post-viral-olfactory-loss/ https://www.fifthsense.org.uk/post-viral-olfactory-loss/

HarryHirsch 6y ago
Let's not get carried away with the Covid fear hysteria You know that the olfactory nerve is a cranial nerve, it's actually part of the brain. Anything neurotropic should be cause for extreme caution.
- SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  The world is already being extremely cautious about the coronavirus, and I'm sure it will continue to do so.
  - claudeganon 6y ago
    Citation needed for the US. The two sides seem to be “workers and grandma need to die for the economy” and “workers and grandma need to die for the economy, in phases, as described by this PowerPoint.”
    - mmmeff 6y ago
      Let's leave the political jabs out of HN and keep this civil. Realistically, the US isn't trying to kill their grandmas.
      - ageofwant 6y ago
        Realistically, a tree is judged by its fruit, not what it blabs on about on national tv.
      - klyrs 6y ago
        > Realistically, the US isn't trying to kill their grandmas. You're delineating intentional acts, and heedless acts with well-known and predictable consequences. That's an important difference in the mind of the actor, but grandma dies either way.
      - claudeganon 6y ago
        The US has the highest death rate from COVID in the developed world, leaving over 100K dead, a lot of which has been centered in long term care facilities. As of early May, Taiwan has had 7 total deaths. Taiwan is what “realistically” not trying to kill your grandmas looks like.
        perl4ever 6y ago
        The US is nowhere near the highest death rate in the developed world. Countries with higher death rates per million people include Belgium, Spain, UK, Italy, France, Sweden, Netherlands, and Ireland. Also, it seems fishy that you're even using the phrase "in the developed world" because all of the countries that have the highest death rates are developed countries anyway.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - asveikau 6y ago
        You can't just declare a statement to be "politics" and claim to be above the topic, have it be automatically "uncivil" as if that shuts down a discussion or saves you from evaluating the claim. I'm sorry to say, such an attitude does little to save grandma!
        SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
    - dang 6y ago
      If you keep posting this kind of flamebait to HN, we are going to end up banning you. We've warned you many times. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - zaat 6y ago
    This statement conflicts sharply with my anecdotal experiences from today. Went to the grocery store, the cashier tells the woman before me that she doesn't believe in the whole thing, its a conspiracy against the people and it needs investigation. I told her that there's more than 300k dead people globaly, you can't deny reality. She asks if I know personally anyone, told her I do, actually know 3 people who were severely seek and one of them died. From there I went to visit my grandpa, in the hospital, after having a heart attack last week. He is 98. He sees me with the mask, tell me he don't ever follow orders, didn't even follow the Nazis orders. I tell him I wear the mask because I actually believe the situation is dangerous, he looked at me as if I said the weirdest possible thing.
- sroussey 6y ago
  SARS2 causing problems with blood vessels is super scary.
pmiller2 6y ago
The article is literally talking about how loss of taste and smell can profoundly affect someone. It's the exact opposite of "fear hysteria." From the article: > Out of 417 patients who suffered mild to moderate forms of Covid-19 in Europe, 88% and 86% reported taste and smell dysfunctions, respectively, according to a study published in April in the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. > Most patients said they couldn’t taste or smell even after other symptoms were gone. Preliminary data showed at least a quarter of people regained their ability to taste and smell within two weeks of other symptoms dissipating. The study said long-term data are needed to assess how long this can last in people who didn’t report an improvement. Right here it is saying that about 25% of patients recover their senses of taste and smell. That means that probably 75% do not. The article spends the entire rest of its word count on explaining the terrible effects this has on those people. Can you explain to me how that would be considered "hysteria" given how contagious this disease is? That just seems utterly dismissive of these peoples' suffering to me.
- throwanem 6y ago
  Those are much higher rates than I've seen quoted anywhere else. Intuitively, it seems surprising that with almost nine in ten people so affected, I should have been lucky enough not to have any loss of taste or smell at all among my own symptoms, or those of anyone I know who's also had the disease. I don't doubt for a second the suffering of those affected by anosmia, or that it can be an effect of COVID-19. But I do doubt that the anosmia rate, and especially the rate of anosmia persisting long after other symptoms subside, is as high worldwide as it was in this one quite small cohort.
- mmmeff 6y ago
  Thank you. As someone suffering with this disease long-term (75 days and counting) it's really nice to see someone unaffected speaking the voice of reason and compassion.

HarryHirsch 6y ago

Let's not get carried away with the Covid fear hysteria You know that the olfactory nerve is a cranial nerve, it's actually part of the brain. Anything neurotropic should be cause for extreme caution.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
The world is already being extremely cautious about the coronavirus, and I'm sure it will continue to do so.
- claudeganon 6y ago
  Citation needed for the US. The two sides seem to be “workers and grandma need to die for the economy” and “workers and grandma need to die for the economy, in phases, as described by this PowerPoint.”
  - mmmeff 6y ago
    Let's leave the political jabs out of HN and keep this civil. Realistically, the US isn't trying to kill their grandmas.
    - ageofwant 6y ago
      Realistically, a tree is judged by its fruit, not what it blabs on about on national tv.
    - klyrs 6y ago
      > Realistically, the US isn't trying to kill their grandmas. You're delineating intentional acts, and heedless acts with well-known and predictable consequences. That's an important difference in the mind of the actor, but grandma dies either way.
    - claudeganon 6y ago
      The US has the highest death rate from COVID in the developed world, leaving over 100K dead, a lot of which has been centered in long term care facilities. As of early May, Taiwan has had 7 total deaths. Taiwan is what “realistically” not trying to kill your grandmas looks like.
      - perl4ever 6y ago
        The US is nowhere near the highest death rate in the developed world. Countries with higher death rates per million people include Belgium, Spain, UK, Italy, France, Sweden, Netherlands, and Ireland. Also, it seems fishy that you're even using the phrase "in the developed world" because all of the countries that have the highest death rates are developed countries anyway.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - asveikau 6y ago
      You can't just declare a statement to be "politics" and claim to be above the topic, have it be automatically "uncivil" as if that shuts down a discussion or saves you from evaluating the claim. I'm sorry to say, such an attitude does little to save grandma!
      - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  - dang 6y ago
    If you keep posting this kind of flamebait to HN, we are going to end up banning you. We've warned you many times. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- zaat 6y ago
  This statement conflicts sharply with my anecdotal experiences from today. Went to the grocery store, the cashier tells the woman before me that she doesn't believe in the whole thing, its a conspiracy against the people and it needs investigation. I told her that there's more than 300k dead people globaly, you can't deny reality. She asks if I know personally anyone, told her I do, actually know 3 people who were severely seek and one of them died. From there I went to visit my grandpa, in the hospital, after having a heart attack last week. He is 98. He sees me with the mask, tell me he don't ever follow orders, didn't even follow the Nazis orders. I tell him I wear the mask because I actually believe the situation is dangerous, he looked at me as if I said the weirdest possible thing.
sroussey 6y ago
SARS2 causing problems with blood vessels is super scary.

pmiller2 6y ago

The article is literally talking about how loss of taste and smell can profoundly affect someone. It's the exact opposite of "fear hysteria." From the article: > Out of 417 patients who suffered mild to moderate forms of Covid-19 in Europe, 88% and 86% reported taste and smell dysfunctions, respectively, according to a study published in April in the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. > Most patients said they couldn’t taste or smell even after other symptoms were gone. Preliminary data showed at least a quarter of people regained their ability to taste and smell within two weeks of other symptoms dissipating. The study said long-term data are needed to assess how long this can last in people who didn’t report an improvement. Right here it is saying that about 25% of patients recover their senses of taste and smell. That means that probably 75% do not. The article spends the entire rest of its word count on explaining the terrible effects this has on those people. Can you explain to me how that would be considered "hysteria" given how contagious this disease is? That just seems utterly dismissive of these peoples' suffering to me.

throwanem 6y ago
Those are much higher rates than I've seen quoted anywhere else. Intuitively, it seems surprising that with almost nine in ten people so affected, I should have been lucky enough not to have any loss of taste or smell at all among my own symptoms, or those of anyone I know who's also had the disease. I don't doubt for a second the suffering of those affected by anosmia, or that it can be an effect of COVID-19. But I do doubt that the anosmia rate, and especially the rate of anosmia persisting long after other symptoms subside, is as high worldwide as it was in this one quite small cohort.
mmmeff 6y ago
Thank you. As someone suffering with this disease long-term (75 days and counting) it's really nice to see someone unaffected speaking the voice of reason and compassion.