Loss of smell is a unique symptom after COVID-19 infection and one of the most commonly reported symptoms in the early stages of infection. Unlike other viral infections, post-infection loss of smell, or anosmia, occurs suddenly and without blockage of the nasal mucosa. A new study in the British Medical Journal states that 5 percent of patients may experience long-term loss of smell.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner Wu Yuxuan mentioned that about 12 percent of COVID-19 patients have the earliest symptoms of olfactory dysfunction, and this symptom will subside by itself after three to four weeks, but some patients still suffer from olfactory dysfunction for a year after the infection.
