Any ideas how to get taste & smell back after covid

Hello! I do feel your pain, as I am experiencing the same since December of 2022! I began acupuncture last week, which was a suggestion from a chiropractor. I’ve gone 3 times and the other day I caught a whiff of cinnamon from the Gluten Free banana bread I was baking. Nothing since, but it’s the most I’ve been able to smell so far. I will continue to go for acupuncture for a while and see what happens. It’s no fun going through life without your smell and taste, that is for sure! I wish you all the best on your personal health journey.

I know this is going to sound like an old wives tale, but it worked for me after 2 tries. Char a whole orange unpeeled over a flame till it is completely blackened. Let it cool, then peel and eat. A co-worker of my husband from India gave him this remedy- I tasted nothing after the first night, so tried again the next night and I could actually taste a burnt flavor, 2 days later I had my taste and smell back. I don’t know if this works for someone who hasn’t tasted for awhile, I was only 3 weeks in when I did it.

Talk to your healthcare provider about duloxetine/Cymbalta. I had parosmia for 18 months and the duloxetine helped.

Thanks for your response, but I just read that Cymbalta can cause loss of taste and smell…

Thank you for your response. It doesn’t sound like something anyone would want to eat, but if it helps get back my taste and smell back, I will try. I am willing to try anything within reason at this point. It’s no fun going through life like this.

Hi. I haven't heard of any of the other mentioned attempts to cure but what worked for me, as recommended to many people during COVID-19 2020 is to inhale strong + pure essential oils in each nostril separately at regular intervals. Peppermint, orange, lavender, spearmint, etc. The process behind this is that the cranial nerves crease to function properly from the virus. Stimulating these nerves to wake them up and coordinate and transmit signal again is the intended outcome. This approach worked for me.
Incredibly better news his just been published that breathing essential oils for only 2 hours while sleeping (thru a diffuser) increases memory dramatically. This is a medically published study result. I forwarded it to my Dr and she responded she loved it.
Wishing you the best.

Yes, the essential oil thing works! I did it with geranium, lemon, thieves, and eucalyptus. Twice a day, I sat down and shut my eyes and held the bottle as close to my nose that allowed me to smell it. At first it was right at my nose. By 6 weeks, I could hold the bottle down at my naval and still smell it!

I inhaled every couple of hours for 5 + minutes at a time while awake. One nostril at a time bc each side of the nostrils had its own separate nerve. My olfactory nerves responded gradually over the course of a few weeks. There were relapses but I was able to smell and taste relatively quickly compared with other symptoms. We really appreciate our senses when we lose them. Even more so when we get them back.