Doctors Warn of COVID-19's Permanent Symptom

By Dana Cruz First Posted: Jan 14, 2021 01:37 AM EST

(Photo : Tumisu from Pixabay )

There are many things you have to look out for when it comes to coronavirus infection. But some of those already infected by the virus may not be aware that they could get one permanent COVID-19 symptom.

Yahoo! Life said in a report that the disease's long list of symptoms also includes a "wide range of complications," including a permanent COVID-19 symptom.

As many studies have reported in recent months, the loss of a person's sense of taste and smell is common among patients suffering from the virus.

However, this can also be a permanent COVID-19 symptom instead of the short time frame that some people report. Usually, these patients suffer from worst-case scenarios of the disease as they are looking at a permanent loss of sensation.

What Causes This Permanent COVID-19 Symptom?

A COVID-19 patient's loss of smell is common. A release from Vanderbilt University Medical Center stated that up to 80 percent of COVID-19 patients suffer from this symptom. It added that these numbers go up depending on objective methods that measure a person's ability to smell.

It added that the sense of smell usually comes first, but the connection it has with the sense of taste makes both happen simultaneously. It can be caused by congestion, drainage, or other nasal symptoms that can block a person's smell nerve that sits atop their nasal cavity.

Another known cause for this is the inflammation caused by the virus in the nose, leading to a loss of olfactory neurons. The duration of this symptom dramatically depends on whether a person's neurons can regenerate.

Permanent COVID-19 Symptom Could Prevent Full Recovery

A Becker's Hospital Review report noted that patients who take a long time to recover their full senses are prone to barriers in full recovery since their situations are causing emotional distress and anxiety.

Matt Newey, 23, who recovered from COVID-19 in March, told The Wall Street Journal that his condition led to lost weight. He said eating felt more like a laborious process.

"I've gone a day-and-a-half without eating anything," he said, adding that his stomach "isn't communicating anymore."

In addition to these anxieties, he also had fears of not being able to smell a gas leak or smoke in case his home.

Chemosensory scientist Pamela Dalton, PhD, a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, also told Wall Street Journal that losing these senses can trigger negative emotions because there will be less serotonin flow the brain.

"So, what they're feeling is not just psychological," she said. Despite this, experts told Yahoo! Life that there may still be a significant chance that a person can recover their senses within the first year of their loss.

Assistant professor Jessica Grayson, MD, said in the report that patients have about a 60 to 80 percent chance to regain a part of their smell functions within a year.

So far, there is still no definitive timeline for when a person can recover their senses once lost. Experts encouraged people to be evaluated to help further existing learnings about the symptoms and when these can be resolved.