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As the fifth wave of Covid-19 takes its course in France, some patients infected with the Omicron variant are describing a new and strange symptom of the disease: parosmia. Distortion of the patient’s sense of smell and taste. Explanations.
Taste of waste, rotten eggs or gasoline… This may seem strange but it is nevertheless the daily life of some people affected by the Omicron variant, when they sit down to eat. Indeed, the Omicron variant of the disease would be responsible for these distortions of smell and taste called parosmia. A phenomenon that distorts the taste and smell of food. A real ordeal then sets in to eat or even drink a glass of water in some cases.
Over 250,000 cases in the UK
According to scientists, while 250,000 adults in the UK have already suffered parosmia following an infection, children are particularly affected. Result: patients, especially children, have no appetite and lose weight, which can worsen their condition and lead them to hospital.
“In many cases, the disease prevents children from eating, and many of them have difficulty eating”, warns Doctor Carl Philpott of the Norwich Medical School of the University of East Anglia (UAE) in the United Kingdom, who has worked on the subject in collaboration with the English association Fifth Sens. He hopes that this study will allow a better consideration of the loss of appetite as something serious.
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Fewer olfactory receptors
But what causes this parosmia? “It is thought that parosmia is due to the fact that the olfactory receptors are fewer in number and can only pick up a part of the components of a mixture of odors”, explains the researcher. It would generally occur after an anosmia caused by Covid-19. “It’s all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order.”. Fortunately, this strange symptom can be corrected by re-educating the sense of smell.