Everything You Need to Know About Anosmia, The Weirdest COVID Symptom | Mashable Explains

Mashable's Natasha Piñon explains what it's like to have congenital anosmia, the inability to smell since birth, while talking to medical experts and patients who’ve lost their smell during the pandemic.

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[anewspinonthings]

I was born with congenital anosmia aswell. Thanks for this video^_^ I don’t really have anyone who can relate to this. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone

[jamestlynn]

I had covid in early August 2021 and was one of the unlucky long-haulers suffering months of anosmia. Literally couldn’t smell or taste anything for the first 4-6 weeks. And then it has been a slow recovery with ups and downs. But I want to give everyone some hope your smell WILL come back eventually. In my case 4 months. It was a SLOW recovery but it does come back. Today I feel like My smell is about 90% recovered.

[GirlWhoCantSmell]

I have congenital anosmia too. Been advocating for the recognition of this condition because when I grew up...I had no one to turn to. I used to feel like I was some type of weird subhuman...not many people could understand. It affected me in many ways. I couldn't tell others because I learned that a barrage of questions such as "but can you taste?" or "Are you sure?" would ensue. Now I raise awareness about anosmia so no one else feels they are alone. Glad there are more videos such as these to help wake more people up.

[alixwallingford]

dang, here I am complaining and crying because i can't taste or smell and this girl literally has never smelled in her life. Thanks for the perspective I needed.

[yt_og]

Just got back my sense of smell and taste at 60% just now sep.17, i lost it last sep.11, got covid sep.5, take care everyone God loves us.

[finn_in_the_bin]

today i learned apparently being an anosmic foodie/food-lover is a bit more rare than anosmia by itself.... good lord im gonna gain so much weight if/when a cure is discovered lmao

[jordangames]

I haven’t gotten my smell for like 7 days and idk what to do

[finn_in_the_bin]

i was born with congenital anosmia too, and my mom managed to explain body odor to me (out of love, because i inherited pretty bad b.o. tendencies from my birth dad)

basically she said it's like what you'd imagine rotten fish would taste like after being left in the hot, hot sun for three days, with an undertone of what badly molded fruit looks like (again, taste and appearance for reference points, not the smell of them- im sure the scent is far worse than the taste/appearance of those things)

[hpd]

I never had a sense of smell my whole life. A family member was the same. One of my friends tried to describe it. They said it was like tasting with your nose, through the air, before you eat something. And my mind exploded but I still can't picture it lol

[gregg]

Anosmic here. This is the only poll I’ve been apart of

[tigrispanthera]

idrc about not being able to smell, was born this way so how could i “miss” something i never had.

but i have OCD 💀… so i’m always like
“oh god i probably stink, eww, WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN THO”
so i’m constantly showering, overusing shampoo, overusing deodorant, etc.
do you think this ocd formed from not having a sense of smell and that absence possibly gave me anxiety of some sort?

[mikegLXIVMM]

I lost my sense of smell due to a deviated septum.
I can't even imagine or hallucinate smells.
It's been this way for about 8 years.
Is there any medical treatment for this?

[AeroSurfinPapple]

I actually all my life could not smell for as long as I can remember but never actually decided to look into it until recently. I never had covid, it’s just been like this forever. Growing up when I told people I can’t smell not many people understood or believed me, since many think that if you can’t smell, you probably can’t taste either. I can taste perfectly fine, but I can’t describe a single smell. Seeing this video I now believe I have congestive anosmia, but my parents never really took me to a doctor to get tested for it. My mom doesn’t think it has a huge impact on my life (which is true, just like stated in this video) but my dad however thinks I should get tested for it and that it’s a problem. I still don’t see it happening anytime soon, and even if I do have anosmia it won’t really change much about myself. Kind of like you mentioned when people normally be like “I smell weed” or “I smell a skunk” or a smoke I won’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t really feel left out that much when it comes to smells, since I’ve sort of gotten used to it and I don’t care that much. But yeah, really glad to know now that I’m not alone at all

[kristinwood]

I've had anosmia for the past 6 years, it occured due to a seizure. It's horrible.

[brend]

My anosmia is weird. While taste wasn't completely destroyed it messed with my taste majorly. Sometimes for example is is basically impaired, otherwise everything tastes bad regardless.

[baobei]

i have a weird form of psychological anosmia that i'Ve had for like 10 years now. So like there's nothing wrong with my nose but due to traumas and mental illnesses I've had as a child smh my brain doesn't get those informations of smells. it jsut went worse over the years up until I was only able to smell certain cents anymore.
I smell like deep woody scents like musk or smoke if it's strong enough. also can specificially smell very clearly distinguish smells that trigger my mental illness, such as desinfectant, but normal things are hard. flowers? many foods? general things? next to nothing. I often have to ask family or friends if food still smells good or what a shower gel smells like. it's annoying but i cant help it.
funnily enough I don't really have problems tasting. I like my food a bit more salty and with more seasoning but I think thats more of a preferance and only a little bit caused by my nose. This is also one of the reason why doctors believe my nose is actually perfectly fine and that it's a neurotic or psychological problem, that we sadly haven't been able to cure yet

[michelleabarquez]

Me too, .I have congenital anosmia, I always tell it to other people as fun fact, but when my college prof learned it, all the faculty team kind of freaked out. by the way im taking a food related course😅 ...I stop telling it eversince.

[komalkoul]

i am so relived to come across this video, yes smell has to do with emotions. I had a very heightened sense of smell which is lost from a year now, i wasnt covid positive but ihave lost my smell for some reason. alll loving memories has to do with smell and taste, food or love or otherwise ... it might seem like i am making a fuss of something so minor ... but i have cried because i couldnt feel the memory i was recalling bcz i couldnt remember the smelll.... its hard to describe....

[runtime]

Hi good morning everyone I'm Joel George from Canada. I was feeling covid 19 symptoms and I was on house arrest while indoor I was going through some pages on youtube and I saw Dr iyhere and ordered for his special remedy on covid-19 symptoms and I'm feeling upright

[Acedafloppa]

I cant smell too😢 its wired because i thought when i was young someone came up to me with a flower and i said it smells good even tho i didnt know How it smelled😅