Can You Have a Loss of Taste and Smell With Flu?

Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose and Throat

Loss of smell, Nasal Polyps, Nasal Problems, Raleigh ENT

Updated: May 2023

Have you ever experienced a loss of taste and smell with the flu? If so, you’re not alone. It’s a common symptom of the flu and can be quite frustrating. 

But have you ever wondered why your taste and smell are affected by influenza? We’ll explore 5 ways that the flu can change the way you taste and smell.

5 Reasons Why You May Have a Loss of Taste and Smell With Flu

First, it’s important to realize that your senses of taste and sense of smell are closely linked. We’ll go into this in detail a bit later in the article, but essentially, if your sense of smell diminishes, you’ll likely find that your food is bland or tasteless.

The medical term for losing your sense of smell is known as anosmia.

Here are five reasons why you can have a loss of taste and smell with the flu:

1. Inflammation in Your Sinuses

Sinus inflammation, also known as sinusitis, can have a significant impact on your sense of smell. 

The inflammation causes the sinuses to become congested and swollen, which can lead to a blockage of the nasal passages. As a result, the ability to detect smells is often compromised, as the odor molecules cannot reach the olfactory (scent) receptors located in the top of the nose. 

2. Nasal Congestion

Additionally, the inflammation can also cause the mucus membranes that line the nasal passages to produce excess mucus, which can further impair the loss of taste and smell with flu. 

In some cases, sinusitis can even lead to a complete loss of the sense of smell. It is important to seek medical attention from one of our ear, nose, and throat doctors in Raleigh if sinus inflammation is suspected, as prompt treatment can help to alleviate symptoms and restore normal olfactory function.

3. Swollen Taste Buds

Swollen taste buds, also known as papillitis, can significantly impact your sense of taste. 

The taste buds are small, mushroom-shaped structures located on the tongue, and they contain the receptors that allow us to detect the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

When the taste buds become inflamed or swollen, it can disrupt their normal function and alter our perception of taste. This can result in a decreased ability to taste certain flavors or a distortion of taste, such as a metallic or bitter taste. It’s also one of the factors that contribute to a loss of taste and smell with the flu.

4. Dehydration

When you have the flu, it’s important to stay hydrated. However, if you’re not drinking enough fluids, it can affect your sense of taste. Dehydration can make your mouth and tongue feel dry, which can affect your ability to taste. This is one of the more overlooked reasons for loss of taste and smell with the flu.

When you are dehydrated, your body produces less saliva, which can cause the mouth to feel dry and lead to a decreased ability to taste food properly. In addition, dehydration can cause a thickening of the mucus in the nose, making it more difficult for odor molecules to reach the olfactory receptors.  

The combination of decreased taste and smell can result in a loss of enjoyment of food and beverages, and can even contribute to a decrease in appetite. 

5. Side Effects of Medication

Cold and flu medications can sometimes lead to a loss of taste or smell with the flu, as these medications may dry out the nasal passages and mucous membranes. 

Additionally, some medications, particularly those containing some older antihistamines, can interfere with the ability of the olfactory receptors in the nose to detect and process odor molecules, resulting in a temporary loss of smell. 

While the effects of these medications are usually temporary and wear off once the medication is discontinued, it is important to talk to us if you experience any prolonged or concerning changes in your sense of taste or smell.

Overall, the flu can affect your sense of smell and taste. If you’re experiencing a loss of taste and smell, it’s important to stay hydrated and talk to your doctor about any medication side effects. With some time and rest, your sense of taste and smell often will return to normal.

Can The Flu Permanently Damage Your Sense of Smell?

We’ve already discussed the loss of taste and smell with the flu, along with their common causes.

But is this loss of smell permanent?

The flu can damage your sense of smell. Fortunately, this is usually not permanent, though it may take a while to return. 

Often, whether or not you regain your sense of smell depends upon the underlying cause. If extensive damage is done to your nasal nerves, it is more likely that the condition will be permanent.

Typically, anosmia (loss of the sense of smell)  is not an indicator of a serious condition. However, because the sense of taste and sense of smell are closely related, anosmia may mean that you lose interest in eating, and as a result, lose too much weight. Therefore, you fail to get the important nutrients your body needs.  

The National Institutes of Health states that anosmia affects 3 percent of the adult population over the age of 40, and the incidence increases with age. For those over 60 years of age, the rate rises to as much as 22 percent.

What can cause you to lose your sense of smell?

While it’s not unusual to have a loss of taste and smell with the flu, there are also a lot of other conditions that can affect it as well. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, any condition that obstructs your nasal passage or flow of air through your nose can cause you to lose your sense of smell.

These conditions include:

• The common cold
• The flu
• Sinusitis
• COVID-19
• Chronic congestion
• Nasal polyps 

Some neurological conditions can cause anosmia. Although uncommon, the olfactory center of the brain—the part used for processing the sense of smell— can be damaged by:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• A brain tumor
• Head injury
• Diabetes
• Exposure to harmful chemicals such as insecticides
• Certain medications
• Zinc-containing nasal sprays (these have been taken off the market)

How can I regain my sense of smell?

We have ear, nose, and throat doctors who have extensive expertise and can implement a plan to help you. The course of care depends upon the underlying cause. 

For example, if your problem is caused by chronic sinus infections, then we will create a treatment plan to help you. 

In cases like this, your sense of smell should return at some point after the underlying problem is resolved. Sometimes this may involve sinus surgery. 

Conclusion:

There are several reasons why you may experience a loss of taste and smell with the flu. These reasons range from sinus inflammation to dehydration. 

Loss of smell due to an acute condition is not likely to be permanent. Your sense of smell should gradually return. However, anosmia due to a neurological problem with your brain makes it difficult to predict when or if you will be able to smell again.

Raleigh Capitol ENT Will Help You Treat Loss of Taste and Smell With Flu 

There are many potential causes for anosmia. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced, innovative healthcare team on your side. We’ve been the provider of choice for the Raleigh, Durham, and Cary areas for decades. Our board-certified physicians are well-versed in the most recent treatments. 

Whether your sense of smell has been damaged by a nose injury, the flu, or chronic rhinosinusitis, we’re here to help you. Please contact us to schedule an appointment.

What Can Cause a Loss of Taste and Smell?

Several viruses and health conditions, including COVID-19, could be the reason for your loss of taste and smell.

A bouquet of flowers. A home-cooked meal. Milk that’s past its best-by date. Our senses of taste and smell help us to detect and catalog a wide spectrum of flavors and scents. Both can also serve to tell us when something’s not safe to eat. And, interestingly, what we perceive as a disruption in our ability to taste may often be rooted in issues related to our sense of smell.

Here Kevin Hur, MD, a rhinology specialist at Keck Medicine of USC, outlines 4 common reasons that may cause you to lose your sense of taste or smell.

1. Viral infections, like the flu, colds and COVID-19

If you’ve had a cold, you may be all too familiar with a stuffy nose that makes it hard to smell. In fact, both the common cold and influenza can cause temporary anosmia, or a complete inability to detect odors. Scientists have also identified a loss of taste and smell among the symptoms associated with COVID-19.

“Viruses can damage the cells that detect odors and cause swelling in your nose, which limits airflow to smell receptors,” says Dr. Hur, an assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

When smell is lost, often taste is, too. When you chew food, the released aromas reach your nose and activate your sense of smell. If your nose is stuffed or blocked by a cold or the flu, the odors can’t reach the sensory cells in your nose, and you lose much of the enjoyment of flavor. Foods taste bland and lose nuance.

2. Neurological conditions

”Some neurodegenerative conditions that affect the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), may affect areas of the brain responsible for processing odors that affect a patient’s smell and taste,” says Dr Hur.

It’s important to note that just because you’re experiencing a loss of smell, it doesn’t mean you will develop Parkinson’s. But reduced sense of smell, or hyposmia, is often an early sign of the disease.

3. Nasal polyps

If you’re prone to frequent sinus infections, you may develop nasal polyps, or benign growths in the nose that may affect smell, due to inflammation of the lining of the nose that can prevent odors from reaching smell nerves.

“Nasal polyps eventually can grow to a size that prevents airflow to the cells that detect odors,” Dr. Hur says.

Treatment may include topical medications, such as steroid sprays and nasal saline rinses, that shrink the polyps. In some cases, surgery also may be performed.

Once inflammation is under control, a full sense of smell may return.

4. Age

According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 40 may experience changes in their sense of smell; that number increases to nearly 1 in 3 for people over the age of 80. When it comes to taste, 1 in 5 Americans may experience changes after they turn 40.

As we age, several factors can contribute to a loss of taste and smell, including dental issues, dry mouth, certain medications, alcohol consumption and smoking. In addition, less mucus production in the nose, a loss of nerve endings and changes in the taste buds can occur as we age, affecting smell and taste.

If you’re experiencing a loss of taste and smell, talking to your primary care physician or visiting an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in the conditions of the ear, nose and throat, may help you pinpoint what’s causing these changes in your senses.

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Topics

age-related conditions

COVID-19

loss of taste and smell

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neurological conditions

Tina Donvito

Tina Donvito is a freelance writer covering health, culture, travel and parenting.

Smell disappeared with a cold: causes, diagnosis and treatment

Anosmia, or loss of smell, can occur for a variety of reasons. These include the formation of polyps, traumatic brain injury, the effects of smoking, viral diseases, and even oncology. Sometimes a viral infection can be established precisely on this basis. For example, anosmia is one of the most striking specific signs of Covid-19 ¹ .

The most common cause of anosmia is the common cold with a cold – SARS. Sense of smell is reduced in 14-30% of cases of colds ² . To learn how to recognize and cure anosmia, read the article.

Why odors disappear with a cold

The inner surface of the nose is covered with a mucous membrane with neuroepithelium, which includes receptors responsible for the perception of smell.

When the molecules of the inhaled substance enter the nasal cavity, the olfactory receptor collects information about the smell, encodes it and transmits a signal to the brain through the olfactory nerve. So we learn about the intensity, duration and quality of the smell. During SARS, this process is disrupted.

If the smell has disappeared during a cold, there may be several reasons:

1. The receptors are not getting air. If the nose is completely stuffed up, the person breathes through the mouth, and the odor molecules do not come into contact with the olfactory receptors.
2. Toxic effect.
   With inflammation, biologically active substances appear in the nasal mucus that damage the receptors.
3. Inflammatory edema.
   Inflammation compresses tissues, leads to a lack of blood supply and impaired function of nerve fibers.
4. Destruction of neuroepithelial cells . The process begins with a pronounced or protracted inflammatory process, purulent inflammation.

First, the sensitivity of the mucous membranes decreases, and the sense of smell partially disappears – we stop distinguishing subtle aromas, but we feel pungent odors. Hyposmia can develop first in one nostril, then the pathology becomes bilateral. Soon they also disappear, anosmia sets in – a complete loss of smell.

How quickly the sense of smell is restored

During the period of illness, the mucous membranes are not restored. The sense of smell usually returns 3-5 days after recovery ³ . If complications occur, the recovery process can take up to 3 weeks or more.

In each case, the timing is individual. The speed of recovery depends on how the disease proceeds and the individual characteristics of the body. In order for anosmia to pass faster, it is necessary to start treatment for a cold in a timely manner and prevent the development of complications.

When to see a doctor

In most cases, a runny nose does not require treatment. Mucus secretion is a defensive reaction of the body to the attack of microbes. Therefore, it is impossible to block the outflow of mucus from the nose. You need to start treatment if your nose is stuffy. With a mild cold, it is enough to use nasal drops and sprays. A visit to the doctor is required if the following symptoms appear with a runny nose:

● discharge of viscous, cloudy, yellow or greenish mucus from the nostrils;

● elevated body temperature (more than 38 ⁰С), which does not go astray for more than 24 hours;

● lingering dry cough with chest or throat pain;

● body aches;

● headache.

If the sense of smell does not return or the runny nose does not go away for a long time, consult a general practitioner or otolaryngologist. Prolonged anosmia may indicate complications of a cold:

● chronic rhinitis – inflammation of the mucosa;

● sinusitis – inflammation of the paranasal sinuses;

● nasal polyp – proliferation of mucous membranes against the background of inflammation.

Smell problems diagnostics

If anosmia persists for a long time, it requires careful diagnosis. Sometimes the sense of smell disappears not because of a cold, but because of an allergy to drugs or other means by which the patient stopped the symptoms.

To determine why the sense of smell has disappeared, doctors take a swab from the nose for PCR and bacteriological analysis and perform instrumental and laboratory tests:

● olfactometry – a test for the ability to recognize certain odors;

● rhinoscopy – examination of the nasal cavity and nasopharynx with the help of mirrors;

● endoscopy – a more thorough examination of the mucous membranes with a probe equipped with optics;

● X-ray (computed tomography) of the nose and sinusoidal sinuses.

Treatment

In 2020, the results of a clinical study conducted by the Research Institute of Influenza named after. A.A. Smorodintsev, which involved 134 patients with acute respiratory viral infection and influenza. In all patients, in addition to the presence of systemic manifestations of the common cold, which include headache, muscle pain, fever, there were also local symptoms of inflammation: runny nose, nasal congestion, sore throat or itching, cough, hoarseness, etc. The results showed that patients who took enisamia iodide (contained in Nobasit ^®
Forte), the severity of local symptoms was significantly lower compared with patients who did not take enisamiya iodide. As a result, the percentage of patients who rated treatment results as “excellent” in the enisamic iodide group was 2.5 times higher compared to the “no enisamic iodide” group ⁴ .

There is no specific treatment for anosmia – most likely, the sense of smell will return when the runny nose passes. It can be treated on its own, but you must be completely sure that the common cold is the cause. Self-medication of other diseases can lead to serious complications, up to a complete loss of smell.

Traditional medicine offers many options, for example, rinsing the sinuses with a decoction of chamomile. However, the effectiveness of this method has not been proven. It is better to use another popular and effective remedy – sea water. It is a part of almost all pharmaceutical solutions for washing the nasal cavity. The product is suitable for both adults and children. Washing can be done with saline or boiled water with the addition of a small amount of salt (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of water).

Treatment for anosmia depends on the specific symptoms and the doctor’s diagnosis. Usually the patient is prescribed symptomatic treatment:

● rinsing with antiseptic compounds, decoction of herbs, saline solutions;

● anti-inflammatory drugs;

● drops and sprays with vasoconstrictive action.

In any case, treatment should take place under the supervision of a physician. Even when using traditional medicine, you need to get expert advice.

Prevention

To avoid problems with smell, treat colds in a timely manner. It is possible to wash the mucous membrane with sea water and eliminate nasal congestion with vasoconstrictor drops already at the initial stages of the disease. But drops and sprays based on xylometazoline dry the mucous membrane, which can lead to the development of hyposmia. To avoid this, follow the dosage indicated in the instructions.

General preventive measures:

● Strengthen your immune system: eat right, move more and get stronger;

● Take care of your personal hygiene during the cold season: wash your hands often, wear protective masks and gloves, rinse your nose with saline.

The most important thing in the article

➢ Loss of smell (anosmia) is more often associated with SARS. Other causes include sinusitis, allergies, and polyps.

➢ Sense of smell with a cold is quickly restored after recovery. A prolonged runny nose can lead to a permanent loss of smell.

➢ For the treatment of anosmia, a solution of sea salt is used. It can also be used to prevent disease. Vasoconstrictor drops and sprays help fight nasal congestion.

➢ If the loss of smell is accompanied by purulent discharge, fever, severe malaise, or smells do not return when the runny nose has passed, consult a doctor.

¹ Bigday E. V., Samoilov V. O. Olfactory dysfunction as an indicator of the early stage of Covid-19 disease. // Integrative Physiology. — №3, 2020.

² Zaitseva OV Postviral dysosmia: treatment and diagnostic principles // Attending physician. – No. 4 (25), 2022.

³ Zaitseva OV Postviral dysosmia: treatment and diagnostic principles // Attending physician. – No. 4 (25), 2022.

⁴ Lioznov D.A., Karnaukhova E.Yu., Zubkova T.G., Shakhlanskaya E.V. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the ARVI treatment regimen, including etiotropic (enisamia iodide) and symptomatic therapy // Therapeutic archive – No. 3 2020 G.

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Scientists explain how to distinguish coronavirus from influenza

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August 21, 2020, 19:46 • RBC

Media news

A new study has shown that patients with coronavirus cannot determine not only smells, but also tastes. For example, they do not distinguish between bitter and sweet. At the same time, such patients do not have a runny nose and nasal congestion.

Researchers have found an easy way to distinguish a coronavirus infection from the flu or a cold. The loss of smell and taste in those infected with COVID-19 is different from similar problems people experience with seasonal viral illnesses, scientists at the University of East Anglia say. The results of the corresponding study were published in the scientific journal Rhinology.

A group of European scientists specializing in olfactory disorders tested 30 volunteers. Ten of them were diagnosed with coronavirus shortly before the experiment, another ten had a severe form of the common cold. The rest of the study participants were completely healthy. It turned out that in patients with COVID-19loss of smell is most pronounced. However, they did not experience nasal congestion, and also could not distinguish tastes. For example, sweet from bitter.