SMELL, TASTE AND MUSCLE MEMORY

Our mind is a truly wonderful thing. One of the Covid symptoms I experienced is the now infamous loss of taste and smell. And it was a rather interesting experience, let me tell you!

It hit me on the third day, and I realised it because I couldn’t smell my breath in the morning (which can be a good thing). My breakfast didn’t taste the same as always – it was all very bland. What I did taste, though? My cup of coffee. Thank goodness for that, at least it didn’t take everything away.

I spoke about this with a friend who’d also had Covid, and she told me that she could “taste” the food if she knew what she was having. If not, it all tasted the same. So, we are now in the realm of … muscle memory. And the power of our mind.

I realised what she meant when my son took me a piece of sweet potato in bed and I had no idea what I was eating. I could feel the texture, determine if it was hot or cold, but it was absolutely tasteless.

On the worst days, I could only tell if the food was sweet or savoury. I could tell if there was too much salt. I then decided to test something I’m not a huge fan of – hot sauces. I’m sorry to tell you I could feel it burning. 🤣 But all I felt was the heat, there was absolutely no associated taste.

You know how much I love turning a negative into a positive, so I’ll speak about the advantages of not having a sense of smell or taste 🤣

One of the great advantages is curbing my sweet tooth. The most “captivating” thing about sweet treats is the way they taste. Well, not knowing what I was tasting, a chocolate cake could taste pretty much the same as a … cucumber. 🤭 Or nothing. I can’t be fooled by the texture, but the taste wasn’t there!

It also has huge advantages when it comes to changing my toddler’s nappy or when suffering from a bout of diarrhoea, another one of the possible Covid symptoms. 🥴

YET the greatest advantage is, without doubt, that you can be more in tune with your body. I ate when I was hungry. And I didn’t run the risk of continuing to eat just because the food tasted nice. My body would tell me when it was full, which means the trumped psychology. It’s often said that when a sense shuts down, the others become more tuned. In this case, I was able to listen to my body better.

It also has its downsides, of course, like not smelling if the nappies were properly washed or not, or the worst of all … not being able to smell my son.

I was lucky. The lack of smell and taste only lasted 4 days and then started coming back. Will they be gone again? I don’t know. But it was quite a learning experience.

What is your opinion on lack of taste and smell? Have you experienced it?