Indore: COVID-19 patients complain of loss of smell, taste

A government official also said that around 50 per cent of COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment in the district say that their sense of smell and taste has reduced. (Representational image: IE)

An increasing number of patients coming to a key COVID-19 facility in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore are complaining of losing their sense of smell and taste, a doctor has said.

A government official also said that around 50 per cent of COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment in the district say that their sense of smell and taste has reduced. He, however, added that these symptoms are temporary.

Talking to PTI, head of the Department of Chest Diseases at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS), Dr Ravi Dosi, said on Tuesday, “These days, about 50 per cent of new COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment in our hospital say that their ability to smell and taste has decreased.”

Dosi, who has so far monitored over 4,000 COVID-19 patients, said that between March and June, the number of patients with these symptoms was very low.

“But in the last 20 days, there has been a rapid increase in the number of infected people who are complaining about the loss of smell and taste,” he said.

According to him, on an average 100 patients, including suspected COVID-19 cases, are admitted to SAIMS everyday.

The doctor, however, said that these COVID-19 symptoms are helping in faster identification of the infected persons.

“Due to the increased awareness, people with these symptoms are coming forward and getting themselves tested for COVID-19,” he said.

Dosi said that it has been observed that the ability to smell and taste gradually returns in patients within three weeks of their recovery.

“I have not yet found a single case in which someone who has recovered from COVID-19 infection has said that he has lost the ability to smell and taste,” he said.

SAIMS is a private hospital, which has been designated as a COVID-19 facility by the Madhya Pradesh government. It is the largest COVID-19 facility in Indore.

Nodal officer for the prevention of COVID-19 in Indore district, Dr Amit Malakar, said, “Nowadays, 40 to 50 per cent of the COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Indore are complaining of reduced sense of smell and taste. However, these symptoms are temporary and both these senses are fully restored post-treatment.

In June, the Union Health Ministry had included loss of the sense of smell and taste among the symptoms of COVID-19.

According to official information, a total of 7,058 cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in the district, of which 306 patients have died, while 4,758 people have recovered after treatment.