Thinking about missing out on the newborn smells of her son still saddens her. Then the condition took a twist. One morning, Mrs.
Cook awoke with her senses restored—but “with a vengeance,” as she recalls. “Everything smelled bad, everything tasted bad, and through a painful trial and error, I realized that as long as something had flavor, it was bad ..
. it was like eating floral lotion, or garbage, or stinky feet.” Both women are part of the Parosmia—Post COVID Support Group on Facebook with nearly 49,000 members.
The social support helps, as they do not feel as alone with their struggles. People report they have trouble cooking for their children or even providing for themselves. They don’t notice when things burn, often they simply cannot stomach smelling the food around them at all.
One woman reported her husband and son cooking with a microwave in the garage to create a “safe space” without smells in the house. Another woman tells of meeting her family members at the local library. “People don’t eat there, there are no food smells.
If someone comes wearing perfume or cologne, I must leave.” Those with parosmia lose weight and many fall into depression or suffer from anxiety on top of the weight loss. Cases vary in severity, but all lives are turned seemingly upside down.
“When the patient goes to the ENT [ear, nose, and throat] doctor for their parosmia and mentions heart palpitations, they refer them to a cardiologist. When they see the cardiol.
