What threatens the loss of smell, why and when it needs to be treated – the opinion of Russian experts

In an interview RIA News Vladimir Zaitsev, candidate of medical sciences, ENT doctor of the highest category, talks about the problems with the loss of smell associated with COVID-19.

As a rule, the perception of smells returns to those who have had the coronavirus after about a month. If the sense of smell is still absent, you need to consult a specialist, the doctor recommends:

There are two components to a decrease in the sense of smell: there is the so-called conductive type, when problems are at the level of the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity, and the so-called sensorineural component, when the problem is already with the olfactory area of ​​the brain. If we talk about the second, it is extremely difficult to help here, if we are talking about the conductive component – it is both possible and necessary to help.

In this case, self-medication is dangerous, since a specialist prescribes therapy after examination and examination. But helping your body, pushing it in the right direction, is within the power of every patient. The method of inhaling various aromas has proven itself perfectly. Except, of course, too aggressive – vinegar, ammonia, perfumes with an overly pungent odor. The otolaryngologist advises:

The smell of basil helps very well in this matter. In special aromatherapy salons you can buy a small bottle of basil essential oil and “listen” to the smell. It is not very sharp, but very persistent, it restores the olfactory bulbs well, improves the sense of smell and opens the patient’s sense of smell, and also has an anti-inflammatory effect. You can take several breaths 3-4 times a day.

The doctor warns that the loss of smell not only brings discomfort to life, but is also fraught with dangerous situations – the inability to detect a gas leak, for example, or become depressed. Therefore, Zaitsev recommends, a visit to the doctor should not be postponed for a long time:

A person who loses their sense of smell may lose their taste for life. When a person does not feel taste, does not feel, does not distinguish smells, this is very bad from the point of view of the psycho-emotional background. A state of depression, an oppressed spirit, when there is no craving for life, can gradually develop.

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