Coping with taste and smell changes can be difficult to live with. It can make eating less pleasurable, affecting your appetite and enjoyment of food and drink.
The information in the links below may help you to cope with your taste or smell changes:
- Loss of smell and taste, NHS Inform
- NHS Scotland has a workbook about Long COVID and symptom management. There is information on managing taste and smell changes (page 40) [PDF] after COVID-19 infection
- How to regain taste and smell after COVID-19, Health Partners
- Managing taste changes, Buckingham Healthcare NHS Trust [PDF]
New evidence
COVID-19 virus has been found in the taste buds of people with taste changes after COVID-19 infection (Yao et al., 2023).
- Participants: Sixteen people with taste changes six weeks after COVID-19 infection had samples of taste buds on the tongue taken (fungiform papillae biopsies). These were compared with people who did not have taste changes.
- Results: COVID-19 virus was found in all the tastebud samples of people who had taste change after the infection. Ten of the 16 people still had taste changes after six months. It was not clear why some people's taste returned quicker than others.
What does this mean for me?
- Taste changes can occur in some people after COVID-19 infection. It is not clear how long this can last or what helps with recovery of taste.
Want to know more about nutrition and COVID-19?
Listen to or watch our podcasts about:
- Diet and COVID-19
- Dietary advice and symptoms, malnutrition, antihistamine diets
- Anti-inflammatory diets with a discussion about the Mediterranean diet in more detail
- Links between food and COVID-19 symptoms which explains how to monitor your symptoms and possible dietary changes you could make