A team of olfactory experts advises that you avoid using steroids to treat a persistent loss of smell due to COVID-19 infection.
They advise that you should re-train your nose to sniff out particular scents.
It will all require some time, likely months, but if you attempt to get a smell of four or more scents at least two times each day, you may recover faster and more efficiently, without extra medication or unpleasant side effects.
The suggestion originates from a proven review, which speculates that corticosteroids shouldn’t be the first treatment of choice for smell loss provoked by an infection with the novel Coronavirus.
Smell training is also a proven way to get your nose back in business after a viral infection limits its functionality.
“As an expert group, we strongly emphasize the initial consideration of smell training,” the group of researchers wrote, Sciencealert reported.
They also mentioned that Smell training has no known side effects, and it is applicable with minimal costs.
Also, according to them, it is the only available treatment supported by a robust evidence base.
It’s challenging to compare smell training treatments with steroids for COVID-19 olfactory dysfunction, mainly because there were no controlled studies to examine the subject.
That being said, the concept of smell training was around for a while. It was successfully used in the past to treat smell loss provoked by other infections.
However, considering the extent of the COVID-19 infection, smell training may need to be implemented at a scale never seen before.
Nearly 60% of the people who get infected with COVID-19 experience smell deficits, while 10% of the population experiences the problem for extended periods.
