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New pill helps Covid smell and taste loss fade quickly
- rrsp 3y agoKey bit: “Three weeks after treatment began, all groups reported similar symptom scores.“ All groups being people who took ensitrelvir 250mg / ensitrelvir 125mg / placebo
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- btbuildem 3y agoThat would be consistent with the claim that the new drug shortens the duration of sensory symptoms. Those not in the placebo groups recovered before the three week timeframe.
- JCharante 3y agoIs there a way to temporarily invoke these effects? When I had covid the first time I lost my sense of smell & taste completely for 1 day. Eating food felt so weird. I really didn't want to eat. The next day my taste returned although I couldn't taste bitterness for a few months (espresso felt like warm water). Has any company thought of taking away people's sense of taste as a weight loss method?
- jessecurry 3y agoObviously an N=1 result, but I had really good luck with a sodium citrate nasal spray. Restored my sense of smell almost immediately, I used for 5 days twice a day.
- Daviey 3y agoI've now had Covid 3 x times. The first time I had incredible taste and smell loss, taking in excess of 4-5 months to recover, perhaps not even fully. The other times, I had no loss of taste or smell. I do wonder why it only impacted me the first time. Different Covid variant, or something biologically changed in me, causing it to impact me differently?
- amluto 3y agoIIRC there’s decent evidence that the incidence of anosmia from Omicron is much lower than from earlier strains.
- MisterBastahrd 3y agoI've been buying "test bags" of mandarins every 4 months or so since I contracted it for a second time around Christmas 2021. Yesterday was the first time that I was able to taste any of the background notes you would normally associate with orange flavors. Before it was like just taking a concentrated spray of orange oil to the mouth. I was so excited I ended up eating half the bag, lol.
- fgsfds028374 3y ago[dead]
- Baeocystin 3y agoThat makes me happy to hear! I have a couple of friends who have been affected by this, and their loss of food enjoyment has genuinely hurt them. Here's hoping they get theirs back soon, too.
- ralusek 3y agoI mean, that's also to do with seasonality. Citrus is horrible outside of winter. I recently started noticing the oranges starting to taste much better, but that's the same as every year around now.
- emchammer 3y agoThe first time I contracted COVID, the other symptoms were wild, and I gave myself even odds on dying. However I did not lose my sense of smell or taste. The second time I contracted COVID, it was mostly just a miserable fever but I lost my smell and taste, and they still have not come back completely almost a year later. My theory is that COVID does a random walk when eating away the brain from wherever it enters.
- 3y ago
- TurkishPoptart 3y agoSounds like this was only an effect in 2020 and 2021 covid. Since then, it's seemed to lose those symptoms.
- ndr 3y agoGoogle Trends confirms it looks way milder now: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&q=loss%20of%20smell,loss%20of%20taste&hl=en https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&q=...
- throitallaway 3y agoOr people are just aware that Covid does that and don't need to Google it anymore.
- digging 3y agoIt's provably not lost, I know 2 people who experienced loss of smell/taste in 2023. Hopefully though it's reduced in severity and frequency.
- Klathmon 3y agoI just had it last week, and I almost completely lost my sense of taste and smell. I'm feeling better and no longer testing positive this week, but I still have basically no sense of smell.
- fgsfds028374 3y ago[dead]
- jandrese 3y agoI managed to avoid getting COVID until August 2023 and I lost my sense of smell. It took over a month for the sense to slowly come back, even after I tested negative. The interesting thing is that I tested positive for COVID and went into quarantine, but didn't lose the sense of smell until a couple of days later. Seems like it set up shop in my lungs to start and only migrated up to the sinuses later. I also only really felt bad (low energy, aches, chills) for the first day, afterward I felt fine except for the loss of smell/taste but tested positive for another 5 days.
- hnrodey 3y agoI lost taste/smell for about two weeks in the late summer 2022 from covid infection. Very wild to lose taste/smell. Not just diminished ... gone. You could have put a turd under my lose and I wouldn't have known the difference. Not only that, I stopped drinking coffee during that time because again ... what was the point if I couldn't taste it? Took a few weeks to completely recover from all of the side effects of a covid infection.
- mahidol 3y agoThis will be nice. Came down with delta in 2021 and lost all sense of taste for 2-3 weeks. Lost sense of smell for close to 3 months. Truly one of the most sobering experiences when everything tastes the same way (ie no taste), and when smell is removed from one's life altogether.
- kuschku 3y agoMy sense of smell hasn't recovered ever since my infection in November 2022. I had a really fine sense of smell before, and I really miss cooking fine meals :( I'm really looking forward to drugs like these.
- dEnigma 3y agoAfter completely losing my sense of smell and taste during COVID it took around two months for it to return to a level that was bearable, but more than a year (maybe even two in total) until I really felt like my sense of smell had mostly recovered. So don't give up hope yet, even without new medication.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- gnicholas 3y agoWhat would be the process for getting this drug approved for use in the US? I wonder if it would qualify for the EUA pathway, on the grounds that it's possible there is a limited window during which it is effective. Has this drug been used for other purposes, which would help regulators know whether it is generally safe? Or would they be assessing it from square one?
- saalweachter 3y agoAccording to the article (and Wikipedia), it's a novel antiviral developed to treat COVID-19, and has reached (or completed, by now?) Phase III trials in Japan, and is currently in use there under an EUA (although I assume the acronym may be different in Japan). If this works for people who have had smell & taste lost for years after recovery, that would imply that the ongoing symptoms were the result of a lingering infection. I'm not sure the referenced study demonstrates that -- as near as I can tell, it was clinically evaluated in people who had new COVID-19 infections.
- gnicholas 3y agoDoes anyone know if it's in trials in the US, or how long the process might take? Just from this thread it seems like there's a decent number of people who have lingering loss of smell, for weeks/months/years after infection.
- dannyphantom 3y agoOooh yes yes - this is such wonderful news! Literally weeks before the world changed my boyfriends dad had begun to explore the world of cooking; he was so happy when we would bring him to niche little grocers to try things he had never known about before and trying all the food - but after his infection, and for the last 2 years - nothing. No taste. No smell. We try to make up for it by encouraging him to make stuff with varied textures and components but he's been really depressed about it since. His pinterest recipe board he would share with us hasn't been updated in years and his meals typically consist of protein/starch/veggie with no seasoning as it doesn't register. I am so hopeful for something that can bring him his sense of smell and taste back; so far his medical teams have kinda just been bouncing him around to various specialties - he even had a small surgery in an attempt but no dice.
- Podgajski 3y agoIt might interest you that zinc, just like Ensitrelvir, is a 3c like Protease inhibitor. You might have a try at getting his serum and RBC zinc tested. https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(20)32476-5/fulltext https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(20)32476-5/fulltext
- oweiler 3y agoWhen I caught Covid I had very high fever and was in constant pain, but nothing was as bad as losing my taste. Can totally relate.
- Ajay-p 3y agoThe saddest burrito in my life was when I had COVID. My doctor said I should take Zinc but that did not make it come back any faster.
- kilbuz 3y agoI was cooking tacos for my family knowing I had COVID (we all had it at the time). I remember not smelling the seasoning, and threw a small handful of chopped raw onions in my mouth to confirm the bad news... Luckily it came back in about a week. Beer and wine tasted awful for a few weeks, and I am a fan of both. Luckily a year on, and all seems well for now.
- llama052 3y agoGirlfriend has lost her entire sense of smell after covid, I'm really hoping the future has an answer to that. It's taken the joy out of a lot of things she enjoys, especially cooking. She's seen a few ENT doctors and they all claim it's not coming back without any clear solutions.
- hinkley 3y agoThere's a story that one of the founders of Ben and Jerry's had no sense of smell and that's why they pay so much attention to mouth feel. Internet says it was Ben.
- op00to 3y agoSome times I wish food was less enjoyable so I’d eat less of it. Not discounting your girlfriends experience - that’s horrible - but being able to switch off my sense of smell would help with sticking to my caloric intake!
- callalex 3y agoIt didn’t work that way for me. I was doing pretty well with my diet but when I lost taste/smell I ended up seeking out fried crunchy things for the interesting texture, as well as rich heavy foods that give that post-thanksgiving feeling just in order to feel something/anything from eating.
- op00to 3y agoDamn. That sucks! I hope you got around it!
- nyokodo 3y ago> Some times I wish food was less enjoyable so I’d eat less of it Ozempic and similar medications have an even more subtle effect. Food is still just as enjoyable but the attraction to that enjoyment is gone.
- Moldoteck 3y agoYou can eat a lot of tasty food without eating a ton of calories. Most calories are from excess of fats( like a ton of oil when a teaspon is sufficient, eating too many too sugary cakes that usually also have high fat content). I've succeed to stay at the same 'normal' weight when covid hit and less mobility just by paying attention to these
- avar 3y agoHave there been studies on the potential advantages of loss of smell and/or taste from COVID-19? Westerners are too obese, and presumably part of that's to do with the enjoyment people get from unhealthy foods. Whereas if you can't taste anything food's basically differently textured fuel of varying temperatures. You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without.
- ESTheComposer 3y agoProbably controversial but I did lose a ton of weight before my sense of smell and taste came back from COVID. Part of me wondered whether it would've been better for my long term physical health to have that sense of taste stay gone...on the flip side, my mental health would've suffered greatly. Food is such an amazing way to experience the world and other cultures.
- jancsika 3y ago> You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without. So in your mind, there are alternative, inexpensive 6- and 12-packs of plain, unsugared yogurt sitting in national grocery chains, just waiting to be consumed by people with no sense of taste at scale? Edit: also keep in mind that people who have lost 40% of their sensory input are apt to go through a depression, and that being sedentary has a lot of risk factors that overlap with the risks from obesity.
- olddustytrail 3y agoWell, yes. It's called plain yogurt or natural yoghurt. Have you really never heard of it? What else would you use if a recipe asks for yogurt?
- mplewis9z 3y agoMy local Kroger imprint sells their generic-brand plain Greek yogurt (with zero sweetener of any sort) in both whole milk and nonfat versions, in 32-ounce tubs for cheap. Every other grocery store I've been to also has something similar, even if you have to get the non-generic brands.
- LastCovidWave 3y ago[flagged]
- asynchronous 3y agoIs this satire based on your account name or is this genuine
- Traubenfuchs 3y agoI greatly enjoyed my loss of smell. People in general and especially IT nerds are rather bad at managing their hygiene. How many of you nasty hacker news readers and commenters go to work with the same T-shirt for more than a day and don‘t shower daily? I had colleagues where I knew whether they‘d be in the office or not by smelling them when I entered the building.
- achrono 3y agoNow are you sure that wasn't hyperosmia? https://www.webmd.com/brain/what-is-hyperosmia https://www.webmd.com/brain/what-is-hyperosmia
- Traubenfuchs 3y agoProbably, but still, smelling if someone used an elevator half an hour after they did is less of a me-problem and more of a you-problem. It should not happen and if it does, you are either disgusting or ill. I consider myself an isotretinoin (the famous and highly effective anti acne medication with loads of dangerous, permanent side effects) "victim", in the sense that I suffer from medium to strong dry eye, nose and throat. Isotretinoin is known to improve sense of smell in those that suffer from a lack of it.
- stuff4ben 3y ago> I consider myself an isotretinoin (the famous and highly effective anti acne medication with loads of dangerous, permanent side effects) "victim", in the sense that I suffer from medium to strong dry eye, nose and throat. Isotretinoin is known to improve sense of smell in those that suffer from a lack of it. Sounds like a you-problem
- lightedman 3y ago"It should not happen and if it does, you are either disgusting or ill." Or, as many of my Indian coworkers can attest, they have a diet that just makes them smell. They are otherwise clean, hygienic, and perfectly-healthy.
- francisofascii 3y agoThe pill is an antiviral called ensitrelvir. It sounds similar to Paxlovid. Both are protease inhibitors which slow/disrupt viral replication. It may help with other symptoms. In an earlier nature.com post.. "participants who took 125-milligram ensitrelvir pills recovered from five specific symptoms — stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, cough, feeling hot or feverish and low energy or tiredness — about 24 hours earlier than did those in the control group" https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00548-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00548-6
- lodovic 3y agoI would expect this to be a nasal spray or similar, any idea why it's a pill?
- swalsh 3y agoI got covid back in May 21, lost sense of taste for around 6 months, than had horrible congestion and insomnia and fatigue since. The insomnia hasn't gone away yet. I got covid again a few weeks ago, and was given some antivirals (Molnupiravir), I recovered super quick on those, and for the days I was taking it I had the best sleep I've had in years. But after the course ended the insomnia returned.
- GeekyBear 3y agoThe first time I realized I had Covid, I was doing laundry and noticed that the bleach I was using had no smell. However, over time my sense of smell did return. The current Covid strain spreading in the US no longer has the loss of the sense of smell as such a common symptom. > only around 10-20% of her Covid patients lose their sense of taste or smell now, compared to around 60-70% early in the pandemic. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-symptoms-mild-follow-pattern-doctors-say-rcna105090 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-symptoms-mi...
- ceejayoz 3y ago> The current Covid strain spreading in the US no longer has the loss of the sense of smell as such a common symptom. I wonder if this reflects evolutionary pressure towards symptoms that don't make you go "oh shit, definitely COVID, stay home and mask up".
- actuallyalys 3y agoThat does seem plausible. The fact that most people had prior immunity by the time Omicron arrived (whether from infection, vaccination, or both) could also play a role.
- lamontcg 3y agoIt is more likely prior immunity. Everyone now has enough antibodies and T-cells so that even if we get infected it isn't anywhere near as likely to escape outside of the respiratory tract, and the anosmia-affected neurons are mostly protected, even though you can still get sick.
- autoexec 3y ago> even if we get infected it isn't anywhere near as likely to escape outside of the respiratory tract That hasn't stopped the virus from spreading with increasing effectiveness and each time it moves to a new host it has a chance to mutate into something we aren't able to defend against, or something that brings new harms. The loss of warning signs letting us know when we're infected is a bad sign.
- bilsbie 3y agoHave they studied if this helps with parosmia? Basically smelling unpleasant orders instead of normal smells once your smell returns. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parosmia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parosmia
- gagege 3y agoThis happened to my wife. It was torture for her for the first year. It's been almost 3 years now and she's just barely starting to enjoy food again. Most things taste fairly normal for her, but a few things, like mint, onions, and garlic, (which are in everything, unfortunately for her) are still wretched.
- jdechko 3y agoI’ve had this for the past 6 months. I’d honestly rather have entirely lost my sense of smell than to go through this.
- cameldrv 3y agoI think that this study was conducted a couple of years ago when this was a more common symptom. My guess is that any antiviral is going to have similar effects since they all do the same basic thing which is to inhibit viral replication. I'm surprised more people aren't getting Paxlovid. In my experience it worked great, and there is a study out that shows that it reduces the chances of long covid.
- pnpnp 3y agoDo we know what the mechanism of action is?
- nerevarthelame 3y ago"[Loss of smell] is sometimes the only symptom to be reported, implying that it has a neurological basis separate from nasal congestion. As of January 2021, it is believed that these symptoms are caused by infection of sustentacular cells that support and provide nutrients to sensory neurons in the nose, rather than infection of the neurons themselves. Sustentacular cells have many Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on their surfaces, while olfactory sensory neurons do not. Loss of smell may also be the result of inflammation in the olfactory bulb." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symptoms_of_COVID-19#Loss_of_smell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symptoms_of_COVID-19#Loss_of_s...)
- pnpnp 3y agoI should have clarified - I meant the mechanism of action for the new treatment.
- dm03514 3y agoMy sense of taste and smell is ~30% since Covid in June of 2022. Luckily there’s still mild taste so eating isn’t completely joyless. another symptom that started at this time was extreme nasal snoring so bad that I wake myself up and that has never happened before and it just started happening in June 2022. I finally got to an ENT, literally yesterday, where they did a nasal endoscopy. There was mild inflammation, but no major deviation or polyps or anything worrying the diagnosis from them was Covid related since nothing structural was observed. I just got a taste and smell training kit that arrived from Amazon today and I think that’s basically my only course of action at this point. Here’s hoping
- beej71 3y ago(Can I just say how much I love drug names? I really want to know the process for generating them.)
- owenmarshall 3y agoMany drugs have common prefixes and suffixes: https://nurseslabs.com/common-generic-drug-stem-cheat-sheet/ https://nurseslabs.com/common-generic-drug-stem-cheat-sheet/
- Eisenstein 3y agoSame way tech products get named -- the Marketing department does it and it is kind of a cultural thing in industries to have a naming technique that follows other brands in style. In tech this would be similar prefixes and removing vowels and using completely unrelated but common words for branding. In pharma they tend to use words that have pseudo-latin fixes ('Nexium'), alchemical sounding names ('Elixophyllin'), or fake-science/medical sounding terms ('Crestor'), and my favorite, words that sounds like they are life-giving or philosophically pleasant states of mind or physicality ('Abilify')
- iwonthecase 3y agoOh boy, I can't wait for insurance to start telling people that being able to smell or taste isn't medically necessary.
- mancerayder 3y agoI'm someone with an extremely sensitive sense of smell. When I had COVID (the first time) at one point my sense of smell became corrupted. I didn't realize it at first. For days I smelled a tangerine smell in my apartment (where I was mostly holed up in those days). I kept thinking that they were cleaning the building carpets with some sort of new cleaner, and it was coming in the vents. After days of this I opened the window and smelled this smell much more intensely in the wind. Then with some experimentation I realized, it's me not the world. I worried that everything would smell like that forever, but luckily it came back. Something similar happened with smoke, where I felt like certain smells (coffee, for example) smelled like someone was smoking. Another confusing experience.
- reportgunner 3y agoI had the same, corrupted is the right word. During the period my smell and taste was corrupted there was a big set of foods and smells that smelled and tasted exactly the same, kind of like burning plastic but without being so disgusting. At the same time I was oblivious to certain smells, I remember one time I was walking a dog with a friend and friend complained about heavy smoke smell in the air - I took a deep breath and all I could smell was fresh cold air.
- Benlights 3y agoI've had Covid at least three times myself. The first time was in Feb 2020 and was my roughest bout. I didn't fully lose my sense of smell or taste but it was very confused. Oranges tastes like parsley and other foods got swapped. I've always prided myself on my sense of smell and have been able to differentiate ingredients in a dish. After about a month my sense of taste and smell seemed to go back to normal but for about 2 years I felt that they had not recovered fully. I love to cook and my taste clearly changed. I started drinking more full bodied wines and eating blue cheese, things that had not been my favorite. I've had at least one but I suspect 2 brushes with Covid in the intervening years. They were pretty mild with no fever and only cold like symptoms. Around March of this year (2023) I experienced a bout of Covid that reminded me of the original time I had contracted it. Fever, body aches, lightheadedness etc. The symptoms were the same just lighter in intensity and over quicker. The interesting thing is that I never lost my sense of smell and I feel like I've regained what I'd lost from my first bout of Covid. No more blue cheese:(