A diminished sense of smell, known as anosmia, has become a well-known symptom of COVID-19, It’s not the only smell- and taste-related symptom, however, that’s affecting patients’ lives. Parosmia—a sensory distortion that causes previously enjoyable aromas to become noxious, even intolerable—is plaguing a sizable number of COVID-19 patients and long-haulers, too. Learn more about how this symptom is impacting COVID long-haulers.* 

How can parosmia affect your life?

If you’re suffering from parosmia, “a rose might smell like feces,” said Dr. Richard Doty, director of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, many people with parosmia feel isolated and alienated because those around them either don’t believe or don’t understand what they’re going through. 

One such example is Samantha LaLiberte, who thought that she had made a full recovery from the novel coronavirus. Seven months after she had COVID-19, however, a freshly delivered takeout order smelled so horrible to her that she threw it away. 

Soon afterward, the smell of her friend’s cooking caused her to run outside and vomit on the lawn. “I stopped going places, even to my mom’s house or to dinner with friends, because anything from food to candles smelled so terrible,” said LaLiberte. “My relationships are strained.”

To make things worse, due to parosmia, LaLiberte can’t stand the smell of her own body. Showering doesn’t help, and the smell of her body wash, conditioner, and shampoo all make her sick. 

Initially, she perceived the same smell on her husband of eight years. While LaLiberte said that she can finally sit next to her husband on the couch, her own smell remains offensive to her. “There is not a whole lot of intimacy right now,” she said. “And it’s not because we don’t want to.”

The dating dilemma

Those seeking relief from the social isolation of the pandemic may find the challenges of parosmia especially frustrating, as restaurants, theaters, and other social venues are starting to open up. Moreover, the very idea of dating can be daunting. 

For Jessica Emmett, who has had COVID-19 twice, parosmia has been a lingering symptom. “I feel like my breath is rancid all the time,” she said, and “my sweat, I can smell it, and it’s altered a bit.” As with LaLiberte, the change has resulted in a lot less intimacy with her husband of 20 years. She feels especially bad for people still seeking romantic partners. “How would you explain this to someone you are trying to date?” she wondered.

Dr. Duika Burges Watson, director of the Altered Eating Research Network at Newcastle University in England, said that many young patients with parosmia are nervous about attempting to make new social connections. “They can be repulsed by their own body odors,” she said. “They find it very difficult to think about what other people might think of them.”

The importance of community

Some parosmia sufferers have turned to online groups for support. Jenny Banchero, a Florida artist, went to a doctor who “looked at me as though I was crazy,” she said. It was only once she’d joined a Facebook group that “I learned people take this seriously.”

Sarah Govier, a healthcare worker in England who experienced COVID-related parosmia, created the Covid Anosmia/Parosmia Support Group in August 2020. “The day I opened it…five or six people joined,” she said. “By January we hit 10,000 people.” The group currently has nearly 16,000 members.

Siobhan Dempsey, a member of the group, recently posted that she has regained 90% of her senses of taste and smell nearly a year after having COVID-19. It had been a long and difficult journey for her; everything, including food, smelled like burning chemicals.

Though Dempsey is mostly recovered, many others are still struggling. “It’s a much bigger issue than people give it credit for,” remarked Dr. Burges Watsom. “It is something affecting your relationship with yourself, with others, your social life, your intimate relationships.”

*Krueger, A. (2021, Mar. 22). If Everything Smells Bad, You’re Not Alone. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/style/smell-covid-dating-parosmia.html

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.