Essential oils can help recover loss of smell by COVID-19

Posted by Crisdietetica Marketing em

One of the main symptoms of Covid-19 is the loss of the ability to smell or smell. There are varying degrees of this loss and it can occur at any stage of the disease or not even appear. ENTs explain that in many cases the loss of smell is associated with loss of taste (or taste).

What science has recently realized is that, in many cases, the loss of smell can last for months, even after a person has healed from Covid-19.

What helps to combat this sequel is a series of exercises, a kind of “smelling physiotherapy".

Losing your sense of smell can affect your quality of life, and in some cases leads to isolation and even emotional problems like depression.

There are several types of smell loss:

  • Anosmia: it is a complete absence of smell;
  • Hyposmia: it is a reduced sense of smell;
  • Parosmia: it is a distorted sense of smell, that is, it smells "good", but the brain interprets it as "bad" or vice versa;
  • Fantosmia: it is when you feel smells that do not exist.

In addition to Covid-19, there are other causes of loss of smell that should be investigated. Are they:

  • Colds and flu: other viruses can affect the olfactory nerve. This is not exclusive to Coronavirus!
  • Trauma: hitting the head or nose can cause loss of smell.
  • Neurological diseases: Parkinson's, Dementia and Alzheimer's may have a reduction or loss of smell. In these cases, training brings good results for both smell and memory.
  • Nasal diseases: sinusitis and chronic rhinitis affect the perception of smell.

The smell training consists of stimulating the olfactory nerve and brain connections with specific aromas and thus helping in their recovery.

How to train the smell (olfactory)?

4 fragrances of essencial oils to stimulate the sense of smell. The suggested aromas are:

  • Rosa - find it by clicking here
  • Eucalyptus - find it by clicking here
  • Lemon - find it by clicking here
  • Carnation - find it by clicking here

“Each essence must be inhaled for 10 seconds with an interval of 15 seconds between each one. The training must be done twice a day for 2 months so that there is time to recover the sensation of smell and communication with the brain ”, explains the doctor.

“Household” fragrances can also be used which makes training easier. Some suggestions below:

  • Coffee;
  • Clove;
  • Menthol;
  • vanilla;
  • Mint (toothpaste);
  • Vinegar;
  • Tangerine (juice).

The use of “household fragrances is the same as that of essences in frequency and time. Care should be taken only to choose aromas that do not cause irritation to the nose to prevent the development of rhinitis.

Even if the person does not smell anything in the first few days it is important to do the training. That's because a damaged nerve has a good chance of repairing itself and training is the way to help it happen faster.

Recent studies show that people who use olfactory training do better in the areas of odor identification than those who do not do any training. There are other possible treatments for loss of smell. Medications can be prescribed on a case-by-case basis and depend on evaluation and follow-up with an otorhinolaryngologist.

About recovering the sense of smell, a Brazilian study shows that most cases improve and that only 5% of cases do not show any improvement. Anyway, early treatment helps this recovery and should be done with medical advice.


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