Jordan News

A new study shows that 1.6 million people in the United States will develop olfactory dysfunction or loss of smell due to corona, and that some will develop chronic dysfunction lasting six months or more.

“With the increase in acute COVID-19 infections this past fall and winter and ongoing cases, a tidal wave of new cases of chronic olfactory impairment is looming and deserves our attention,” said study author Dr. ”

He added: “We have to try to figure out what these people should do, and the sad news is that we don’t yet have effective treatments for the chronic loss of smell associated with COVID-19.”

Without smell, you wouldn’t be able to taste food or detect harmful odors such as gas and smoke, and many people with chronic anosmia report a poor quality of life in addition to feelings of depression.

It is not yet known how COVID-19 robs you of your ability to smell, but many viral diseases cause similar symptoms.

“We think the virus attacks the supporting cells in the nose that help the olfactory nerves do their job,” Bechkerillo said.

Olfactory nerves are responsible for our sense of smell, and to better understand how many people will lose their sense of smell due to COVID, researchers collected data on daily new cases of COVID in the United States, frequency of smell loss, and recovery rate.

Based on these numbers, they estimate that more than 700,000 – and possibly as many as 1.6 million Americans will experience a chronic loss of their sense of smell due to COVID-19.

The actual number could be even higher, as the data included only positive cases reported by the country, not all COVID cases.