As many as 86% of people with mild or moderate COVID-19 experienced this symptom.

Give It Time

Time is a great healer for many ailments, and COVID-19 is no exception.

Retrain Your Sense of Smell

Olfactory training is one way to treat anosmia.

Shot of happy young woman smelling a lemon while relaxing on the window sill and scrolling through social media on her smart phone.

fotostorm / Getty Images

With this therapy, you use daily exposure to common odors to help retrain your sense of smell.

you’re free to use multiple scents, but pause for a few clear breaths between each.

you could also use various strong-smelling items or scents tied to pleasant memories.

Neurons regenerate very slowly, but researchers are studying additional therapiesperhaps evenstem cell therapiesthat could help expedite the process.

Some study participants reported a restored sense of smell within a week.

The same study revealed that smell and taste usually returned within seven to 14 days.

In some professions, like cooking, a sense of smell is crucial.

In otherssuch as firefighters or emergency respondersa sense of smell is needed to detect dangerous situations or conditions.

No single therapy or treatment alone is proven to restore your sense of smell after a COVID-19 infection.

UC Health.How to regain your sense of taste and smell after COVID-19.

2023;133(1):169-174. doi:10.1002/lary.30453