{"id":2070,"date":"2020-11-13T19:04:04","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T00:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/?p=2070"},"modified":"2020-11-13T19:04:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-14T00:04:06","slug":"learning-about-loss-of-smell-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/learning-about-loss-of-smell-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning About Loss of Smell During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Your ability to smell is an often-overlooked sense that is important to your survival. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/brain\/anosmia-loss-of-smell#1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inability to smell, known as anosmia,<\/a> has been in the news lately due to its connection to COVID-19. Understanding the causes of this condition can help ensure you seek treatment when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Is Smell?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/photo-1533907650686-70576141c030.jpg\" alt=\"Some flowers\" class=\"wp-image-2071\" width=\"352\" height=\"235\" title=\"Learning About Loss of Smell During Pandemic\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/photo-1533907650686-70576141c030.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/photo-1533907650686-70576141c030-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 352px) 100vw, 352px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Your sense of smell is pretty simple. A substance, such as a flower, releases molecules. A molecule will travel up your nose and stimulate the olfactory cells, which will send information onto the brain. It is then that your brain identifies the specific smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any damage or interference to this process can lead to a loss of smell. Common problems include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Nasal congestion<\/li><li>Nasal blockage<\/li><li>Damage to the nerve cells<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your ability to smell plays a large role in your sense of taste. Without smell, your taste buds are limited and can only detect a few flavors. While not dangerous, this can impact your quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Causes and Symptoms of Anosmia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most obvious symptom of anosmia is an inability to smell. For some, this damage causes a change in the way certain things smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the above-mentioned problems that can interfere with your smelling processes, below are some of the less common causes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Exposure to chemicals<\/li><li>Cocaine use<\/li><li>Old age<\/li><li>Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/li><li>Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/li><li>Multiple sclerosis<\/li><li>Nutritional deficiencies<\/li><li>Radiation treatment<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Is Anosmia Diagnosed?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you experience an inability to smell for longer than a week or two, you should seek medical attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your doctor will perform a physical exam, looking inside your nose with a lighted instrument to see if a growth is impairing your ability to smell or if there is an infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If no cause is identified, further testing such as a CT scan may be ordered to get a better look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Treatment for Loss of Smell<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The treatment of your condition depends on your diagnosis. Decongestants may be ordered to help open up your nasal passage. If your congestion gets worse, this is a sign of an infection and your doctor will prescribe antibiotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Surgery may be ordered to remove a polyp or growth. To learn more about anosmia or to schedule an appointment with an ear, nose and throat physician, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/contact\/\">contact the experts<\/a> at ENT of Georgia\u00a0today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your ability to smell is an often-overlooked sense that is important to your survival. An inability to smell, known as anosmia, has been in the news lately due to its connection to COVID-19. Understanding the causes of this condition can help ensure you seek treatment when needed. What Is Smell? Your sense of smell is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"12","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"ENT of Georgia North | An inability to smell, known as anosmia, has been in the news lately due to its connection to COVID-19.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}