It’s been several days since your child lost his appetite and isn’t very hungry. At the end of the meal, his plate is far from empty and you wonder why? What if it was a new symptom of covid-19?
Your child has trouble finishing his plate and has no appetite when you have cooked his favorite dish with love? Covid-19 is surely there for something. Currently, the most well-known symptoms of the covid-19 virus are runny nose, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, nausea…a list that goes on and on.
A British study recently revealed a new side effect of covid-19: the parosmia characterized by odor distortion. Concretely, we confuse the smells, which tend to become unpleasant, which causes a strong loss of appetite. Smells and tastes mix in your head and your brain can no longer assimilate the smell and the basic food that corresponds to it. This alteration of the sense of smell is common when one is positive for Covid-19, and tends to settle over time. For children who have been infected with the coronavirus, this could be the cause of food refusal : Even foods they normally enjoy can suddenly smell foul. So we understand them!
The scientific explanation
Scientists from the University of East Anglia and the organization Fifth Sense have looked into the matter. They believe that this parosmia is caused by a decrease in olfactory receptors. Working less well than usual, these change food odors, even make them unpleasant. “Especially for hot foods which may smell like garbage” they explain.
Don’t worry if your child refuses to eat, the parosmia will gradually disappear over time. This study therefore advises to favor cold meals. But to help parents get children with this disorder to eat, smell specialists recently published a guide detailing various techniques.
How to remedy parosmia?
In England, nearly 250,000 adults, as well as many children, are said to be affected by parosmia, an alteration of taste and smell, which is among the possible symptoms of Covid-19. To better understand the consequences of parosmia, smell experts from the University of East Anglia and the charity dedicated to smell and taste disorders Fifth Sense have worked to produce a guide for parents of children living with this disorder. In this guidespecialists share several tips and advice.
– Find the least trigger foods
Researchers advise parents to look for foods that would be least affected by their child’s disorder. These are frequently products that are naturally weak in taste, such as pasta “Vanilla flavored vitamin drinks or unflavored can also help children get the nutrients they need,” noted UEA’s Professor Carl Philpott. Conversely, it is worth noting the trigger foods, which are often onions, garlic, cooking meat or coffee.
Specialists also adviseusing a nose clip or holding your nose during meals and of course in the short term. For people who have suffered from parosmia for some time, it is advisable to train for the long term with the following exercise: train twice a day to smell four different smells.
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