‘Fresh coffee smells like exhaust fumes’, experience ex-corona patients

Sudden loss of taste and / or smell are known to be common symptoms of Covid-19. But some of the ex-patients still experience problems with these two senses more than six months after their infection.

“My sweat smells like onions and I hope it is only in my head”, says Chantalle Mouwer. “Normally it always smelled neutral. And it affects not only smell but also taste; a lot of sweet things and dairy, for example, no longer taste good. I still drink cappuccino, but I don’t enjoy it anymore.”

MRI-scan

The 37-year-old resident of Utrecht was tested for corona antibodies and it showed that she had the virus. In March she also suffered acute loss of smell and taste. Sleeveer recovered from that, but since June the problem has suddenly returned and many smells and tastes have completely changed for her. She underwent an MRI scan for any other causes. According to her ENT specialist, it is likely the result of covid-19, sleeveer explains.

Radio DJ Domien Verschuuren also suffers from a distorted taste and smell experience. His perfume smells different, an egg tastes strange and all kinds of things have a chemical smell for him. “I also feel that I can no longer smell my own winds, but I am not going to ask others to check.”

‘I thought only me had this’

Verschuuren has not been tested, but thinks that it is a result of corona since he suddenly couldn’t smell or taste anything in the spring. In his show at Qmusic, he called on ex-patients on Wednesday afternoon to share their experiences. “I received almost 200 responses from people,” says Verschuren. “They said, ‘I thought only I had this,’ or ‘I didn’t dare to talk to anyone about it. That’s exactly why I did it, because there’s so little about it on the internet.”

–