“There is no risk – other than boredom,” said Dr. Dalton dry.
Before you begin, however, it is wise to rule out other conditions that could affect your sense of smell.
“I recently saw someone who had an odor disorder after Covid-19 and it turned out they had inflammatory nasal polyps,” said Dr. Sunthosh K. Sivam, ear, nose and throat specialist and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. After removing the polyps that had nothing to do with Covid, his patient’s sense of smell improved significantly.
“An ENT doctor is a great way to make sure nothing else is overlooked,” he added.
How do you choose your fragrances?
First, decide on four fragrances that you are familiar with and that evoke strong memories, according to the experts. These are the scents that you will stick to in the early stages of your workout. Perhaps one of them is a fragrant shampoo, a favorite cologne or lemons from the tree in your garden. For example, an avid home cook might use certain condiments from their pantry.
Alternatively, “some people have had great success with things that smell bad,” said Dr. Dalton.
During her olfactory training, Ms. Rao, the restaurant critic, once used spoiled milk. Ms. Drager, who had Covid-19 in the summer, extinguishes a candle every day and tries to smell the smoke.
If that doesn’t sound appealing, you can purchase a scent kit that contains essential oils: the classic scents are rose, eucalyptus, clove, and lemon. The kits typically sell for less than $ 50.
Or you can buy these oils yourself from a place like Whole Foods. Ms. Kelly has instructions on how to make your own fragrance kit on the AbScent website.
If you are buying your own oils and want to smell them straight out of the open container, ask someone who is unaffected by odor to try it first. Then ask if the person can easily smell the scent if the scent is a few inches below their nose. (Some containers have openings so small that it can be difficult to get a good puff.) Avoid getting any of the oils on your skin as they are highly concentrated.
Comments are closed.