In early April, Prince Charles shared in a video posted to Twitter that he was “on the other side” after contracting COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. But while that was months ago, the heir to the British throne says he’s still dealing with lingering side effects.
Charles, 70, revealed during a visit to a hospital that he lost his sense of taste and smell after he contracted the virus—and it still isn’t back. “He did speak of his personal experience [with the virus],” health care assistant Jeff Wall told the Daily Mail. “He also spoke about his loss of smell and taste and, sort of, still felt he’s still got it now.”
A reporter for ITV News also addressed Charles’ comments in a tweet, writing, “The Prince of Wales also spoke to staff about losing his sense of taste and smell when he had coronavirus and said he is still feeling the effects of the virus now. Many weeks later.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists a new loss of taste or smell as a symptom of COVID-19, but the agency doesn’t say anything about it lingering. Still, experts say some people have struggled with this after recovering from the virus. Here’s how long a loss of smell or taste may last once you’ve had COVID-19—and what you can do to try to get it back, according to doctors.
First: A recap of how your senses of smell and taste work
Anosmia, the medical term for a lost sense of smell, is often linked to ageusia, the medical term for a lost sense of taste. Both of these senses are closely linked, so losing one can easily impact the other, says Kathryn Boling, M.D., a primary care physician at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center.
Your ability to smell things comes from sensory cells called olfactory sensory neurons, which are a small patch of tissue that sit high inside your nose, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). When you smell something the cells send messages to your brain, which then identifies what you’re whiffing. Smells reach those olfactory sensory neurons through either your nostrils or a channel that connects the roof of your throat to your nose, the NIDCD says. When those channels are blocked, you can lose your ability to smell and taste.
How does COVID-19 cause a loss of smell and of taste?
COVID-19 is still a new virus and, with that, there’s a lot experts don’t know about it, points out Eric Holbrook, M.D., director of rhinology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and associate professor in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
But anosmia can happen after someone contracts any viral illness, like a bad cold or the flu, so this isn’t a new thing, Dr. Boling says. “It is a common side effect of respiratory viruses in particular,” she says.
It’s not entirely clear why this happens with COVID-19, but biopsies on patients who have experienced a lost sense of smell and taste have indicated that there can be nerve damage in the nasal cavity, Dr. Holbrook says. “The good news is that the epithelium, the lining in that area, have cells that can divide and regenerate those nerves,” Dr. Holbrook says. “But they have to travel back to the brain and make proper connections. That can take time.”
How long does loss of smell and taste last after COVID-19?
Preliminary data released from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) found that, in COVID-19 patients who lost their sense of smell, 27% had “some improvement” within about seven days, while most were better within 10 days.
But loss of smell and taste can linger after a viral infection, Dr. Boling says. “I have seen people who have lost their sense of smell after a respiratory infection who have gotten it back fairly quickly, and I’ve seen people who have lost their sense of smell and taste and have never gotten it back,” she says.
There are also people who fall somewhere in between, having a drawn-out recovery that takes anywhere from a few months to a year or two, Dr. Holbrook says. Even then, there are nuances. “Some people get partial function back and some get complete function back,” he says. “Some don’t recover at all. They can have a complete smell loss and never regain function.”
He adds that “it’s very hard to tell” who will get their sense of smell back and who won’t. “The only thing we can say is that if, during the year, a patient starts noticing some improvement, that’s a good sign,” he says.
Is there anything you can do to bring back your sense of smell and taste after COVID-19?
Unfortunately, there is no particular medication that can help bring back your sense of smell after having a virus, Dr. Holbrook says. However, something known as smell training may have a positive impact.
Smell training is the process of exposing yourself to various strong smells over a period of time in hopes that it will help bring back your sense of smell or, at least, improve it. “We have a very specific guide for how to do this based on literature that’s been published,” Dr. Holbrook explains.
He recommends starting out with four strong odors like rose, eucalyptus, lemon, and clove (you can buy them in essential oil form). “Smell each odor for approximately 10 seconds with a little rest in between,” Dr. Holbrook says. While you’re doing this, he urges you to “try to remember what it smells like.”
Smell training is more of a marathon, not a sprint, and Dr. Holbrook recommends doing this twice a day for months, switching up the scents after a few months. While research has shown that people who do scent training have better results than those who do none, it’s not guaranteed to bring back those senses.
That’s especially true with COVID-19. “The studies are not very clear” about long-term loss of smell and taste, Dr. Holbrook says, adding, “we just don’t know yet what will happen.”
Still, if you happen to experience loss of smell and taste after having a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 and it’s lingering, it’s a good idea to talk to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. They can examine you to ensure a proper diagnosis and offer up personalized recommendations on how to try to get your lost senses back.
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