It has been a month since I lost my smell, but I tested negative for COVID-19. Please help.

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have a great deal of suspicion regarding your COVID-19 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) test. I feel that it seems to be a false negative result. The reason for having this doubt is that all your features favor a mild illness associated with a viral illness.

Doing an RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test will not give better results at this stage. But if you get tested and have antibodies, then this proves that you have a positive result and the test was a false negative. You will not have any associated conditions at this stage, and it occurs rarely.

This is perfectly normal, as seventy percent of patients having COVID-19 positive results have complaints of anosmia and altered sensation of taste (dysgeusia). The loss of smell and taste occurs suddenly in eighty percent of cases. The virus attacks the olfactory receptors present in the base of the skull and prevents the process of smell processing, so effective transmission will not occur.

This results in loss of sensation of smell. The processing areas of taste and smell are located closely in the brain, and they work together. If there is a loss in the perception of smell, then the perception of taste also goes down. This is the reason for you to have an altered perception of a smell. Immunocompetent patients seem to have other complaints, such as headache, weakness, and fever, along with loss of taste and smell.

From my observation, it takes around four months to get back fifty percent of the functions of taste and smell. The time duration can vary, and there is nothing to worry about at this stage. There is no other medication, for now, to bring back the function of taste and smell in a quick and effective manner. I am sure that both perceptions of smell and taste will improve soon, and you will become perfectly normal.

I hope this helps you.

Thank you.