Loss of smell or anosmia is one of the main symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. In addition, many people who have suffered from the so-called long-term Covid persist for months with smell problems.
Now a group of scientists say there could be a simple trick to help the recovery of this sense.
A study by a team from University College London (UCL) discovered for the first time that people with prolonged anosmia have undergone a form of brain rewiring and could use a method called olfactory training to help overcome this problem.
Smell training is a method in which a person with smell problems works to improve their recognition of the senses, and scientists suggest sniffing common household odors for 10 seconds, such as lemons, oranges, nutmeg, mint, coffee, twice a day.
The scientists explained that the MRIs showed that the impairment of smell was the result of alterations in the brains of the infected patients, which leave two disconnected parts of the brain and unable to adequately process odors.
The disconnect between the orbitofrontal cortex and the prefrontal cortex was disrupted in Covid patients for a long time, and certain smells could help repair the connectioninforma The Telegraph.