The antiviral drug ensitrelvir, which shortens sensory problems, is one of the few COVID-19 drugs available to people not at high risk of grave illness.
From the article:
At the start of the study, 20% of participants reported some level of smell or taste loss. After the third day of treatment, the proportion of participants reporting such symptoms in the ensitrelvir groups started dropping more sharply than did the proportion in the placebo group. At day seven, the percentage of participants with smell or taste loss was 39% lower in the group taking 250-milligram pills than in the placebo group. Three weeks after treatment began, all groups reported similar symptom scores. [emphasis added]
Unless I’m misreading this, they saw some notable reduction in symptoms at 1 week, but the benefit had faded away by the time they hit three weeks. This seems to imply that the drug doesn’t provide any reduction in long-term loss of smell (or at least, such a benefit was not shown in this particular trial).
Yeah, that’s how I’m reading it as well
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This trial, as I understand, is only for when you get covid, to not get loss of smell and taste. It’s not for treating loss of taste and smell people may already be suffering from.
It’s actually a great time to eat healthy since there’s no point in trying to eat tasty stuff
What are you guys eating that is healthy and gross?
It’s not that it’s gross, it just that it no longer needs to compete with less-healthy cravings like fast food, ice cream, etc.
The problem was when we lost our smell, coffee tasted worse (basically only the bitterness stayed, no aroma).
The same was true for sweet and salty foods. The salty taste still comes through, but no smell. So junk food was the only thing with any taste (since it mostly tastes like salt and sugar anyway).
TLDR: Acid, salt and sugar still came through, but umami, fruit and tasty veggie smells were all gone for our family.
Same. I basically ended up enjoying only chips drenched in sriracha.
My sense of smell has been absolutely dogshit ever since I experienced COVID almost two years ago now (and I’ve only ever had it once.) My symptoms were extremely mild, but my weakened sense of smell just hasn’t improved more than slightly. Honestly, I’d say even after all this time, it’s only at about 70% compared to pre-COVID exposure.
fuck, I have covid right now and I just realized I didn’t really smell the ginger yesterday when I made my tea, and now I went around, can’t smell ginger, soy sauce, hell a deep fucking inhale from pure vinegar barely comes through.
