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Attack on the senses
Depending on the study, up to 70 percent of those infected with Covid 19 report having lost their sense of smell. Up to 30 percent complain that their sense of taste has also been lost. And after recovery, it can take over five months for both to fully recover.
In 5-15 percent of patients, the loss of smell even persists for months or even years. Even conservatively estimated, that is several hundred thousand people who have to deal with a prolonged loss of smell.
Those affected lose a large part of their quality of life, because tasting and smelling are not only elementary for the enjoyment of food, they also regulate our nutrition, our physical interaction with others and protect us from dangers such as fire, gas or spoiled food. If the ability to smell is not restored, it is called anosmia. Another small percentage of those affected even develop a stinky nose, a so-called parosmia.
The nose as an entry point
The coronavirus carries numerous spine proteins that it "masks" with glycans, which are specific multiple sugar molecules. This enables it to couple inconspicuously to the host cell. It penetrates it and transforms the endoplasmic reticulum, a kind of duct system in the cell, into vesicles in which it can multiply without the host cell feeling strongly affected. Thus, the immune system is only alerted when the viral load is high. But then so violently that a positive feedback loop occurs: the immune system releases high concentrations of inflammation-relevant proteins, which in turn stimulate leukocytes to produce more of these substances. Consequence: The immune reaction cannot automatically subside.
The specific enzymes necessary for host cell entry are more active in the upper part of the airways than in the lungs, for example. Especially the olfactory epithelium, the olfactory mucosa located in the upper nasal concha, contains the enzymes necessary for cell entry. Thus, the nose is the ideal gateway for the pathogen.
The olfactory pathway, a sophisticated system
During olfactory perception, volatile molecules interact with olfactory receptors. The olfactory receptors are part of the olfactory neurons in the processes, also called cilia, which are located in the olfactory epithelium. The olfactory receptors decode the odorant by activating various olfactory neurons and transport the signals to the olfactory bulb.
However, it is not the case that the individual receptors and neurons perceive the odour impressions in equal parts and already identify them as "grapefruit", for example. Rather, the individual signals can have a masking, additive or synergistic effect on each other. Depending on how they are understood, odours can therefore be mistranslated, which can possibly manifest itself in systematic olfactory misperceptions such as the aforementioned stinky nose.
Order is brought to the multitude of impressions by the glomeruli, which are located at the point of entry to the olfactory bulb and sort the signals of olfactory perception there. In the olfactory bulb itself, the signals are amplified and passed on to the olfactory brain as well as to other areas of the brain that are responsible for processing emotions, memories and associations as well as carrying nutritional significance. With this sophisticated multi-level system, we are able to perceive up to 1012 different odours.
The direction of attack of the virus
Depending on its course, the coronavirus can not only attack and destroy the cells of the olfactory epithelium, as described at the beginning, but also the olfactory neurons themselves. By directly attacking the neurons, the virus theoretically has the possibility to enter the olfactory bulb. From there, it could move on to the brain and central nervous system to cause further damage. However, this pathway has hardly been studied in humans so far. It is known, however, that the coronavirus can attack the trigeminal nerve - an important nerve that supplies the face, masticatory muscles, nasal cavity and oral cavity with sensitive and motor fibres. A possible attack on the trigeminal nerve could be the explanation for neurological symptoms as well as the frequently mentioned headaches.
Self-healing powers of the body
Olfactory neurons have a lifespan of 30-60 days and are constantly renewed by the regenerative basal cells. So if the damage is not very massive, the sense of smell and taste can be restored within a few weeks. Since the crucial cells of olfactory perception lead a dangerous life - they are always exposed to all kinds of molecules during breathing and smelling - evolution has optimised the renewal of these cells: When damaged by diseases, the human body even regenerates olfactory cells at an accelerated rate. If the olfactory receptors are now increasingly exposed to volatile odour molecules, this additionally stimulates the formation of new olfactory cells. This increases sensitivity. New cell formation is faster in young adults than in older people. However, what absolutely contributes to cell renewal is knowledge of it, patience and a positive attitude towards the body.
Targeted training
Training with essential oils supports the recovery of the olfactory system. It has been shown that high-intensity olfactory stimuli in particular help better than low-intensity olfactory stimuli. Therefore, essential oils of rose, citrus, clove and eucalyptus are well suited and often used for olfactory training. The regeneration of the olfactory system also depends less on the number of olfactory stimuli than on the regular repetition of specific olfactory substances: At least twice a day for 30 seconds, is the recommendation. At the same time, the anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties of many of these essential oils seem to be advantageous for rapid training success. And the further this success progresses, the higher the pleasure gain.
Recovery with pleasure and ... hops!
Many essential oil ingredients that have been investigated in studies, such as lavender, thyme, lemongrass, tea tree, mint or cinnamon, can also be found in hop oil. Hops are therefore an excellent raw material for olfactory training.
It is important for the motivation of those affected who train their senses to be able to assess their own progress. This can be done in series tests with certain dilution levels of the oils or individual threshold value determinations for single substances.
From the wealth of experience of their Hop Flavourist training, the taste experts at BarthHaas have created a recovery smell training course consisting of a 90-minute online course. Participants have the opportunity beyond the course to continue their daily exercises with the course material. A helpful action - not only for hopheads, beer sommeliers and brewers.