How to recover lost smell? Remedies for Anosmia
After a particularly severe flu or cold, you may experience loss of smell. The smell deficit can be total or partial: in both cases, however, it is debilitating or at least very unpleasant.
This condition is almost always temporary, and there are methods to overcome it more quickly and completely. In this article, we will explore remedies and exercises to recover lost or damaged sense of smell.
Effects of Long Covid: anosmia and parosmia
As we unfortunately know, anosmia - the loss of smell - can be caused by viral infections. In particular, the Covid-19 infection has forced many people to deal with this problem. An equally common effect is parosmia, the alteration of smell. Those affected by parosmia have a distorted perception of odors: even the most pleasant scents can be perceived as unbearable.
But what causes the deficit of smell due to the virus? The cause appears to be damage to the neural connection between the olfactory bulb and the brain. In addition to restoring this nerve connection, it will be necessary to "re-educate" the brain at a perceptual level to ensure that initial anosmia does not turn into parosmia.
To re-establish communication between the olfactory bulb and the brain, we will therefore have to work on two fronts: stimulation and olfactory memory.
Exercises and remedies
There are multiple exercises to restore proper olfactory function. These are very similar practices, requiring only a few minutes of commitment per day.
Reactivation of olfactory memory
One of the exercises to stimulate the sense of smell and awaken the memory connected to it is to smell a set of familiar odors and try to evoke associated memories. In this regard, to recover your sense of smell, you can use "The Fantastic 7," a kit of essential oils composed of plants well-known and widespread in the Mediterranean area.
Inside "The Fantastic 7" kit, you will find essential oils that anyone can associate with at least one event or memory:
The Fantastic 7 Kit
The advice is not to smell each fragrance for more than three seconds, in order not to tire the senses. To perform this exercise best, you need to be relaxed and open to listening: in fact, a state of tension could hinder the emergence of olfactory memories.
A very interesting aspect of this kit is that, once the sense of smell is recovered, the essential oils within it can be used for cleaning and home care, as well as for personal well-being. The kit is shipped with an instruction booklet on the properties and uses of each essential oil.
Recognizing olfactory families
Another remedy to stimulate both the sense of smell and the processing of odors is to smell perfumes belonging to different olfactory families: citrus, floral, balsamic, spicy, sweet.
You will only need five essential oils, one for each olfactory family. You can choose between essential oils distilled from single plants or synergies (i.e., blends of several essential oils).
Single Plants
- Citrus essential oils: orange, lemon, bergamot, grapefruit
- Flower essential oils: rose, jasmine, ylang ylang
- Balsamic essential oils: mint, eucalyptus, tea tree, camphor, wintergreen
- Spice essential oils: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, frankincense, myrrh
- Sweet essential oils: vanilla
Synergies:
- Citrus synergies: Acqua dell’Angelo, Giardino d’Agrumi
- Floral synergies: Abbraccio
- Balsamic synergies: Alta Quota, Respiro, Ossigeno, Aria Pulita
- Spicy synergies: Sogno Speziato, Sherazade, Danze Africane
- Sweet synergies: Dolce Mafalda, Carezza, Stella d’Inverno
Try placing a drop of essential oil on a tissue and smelling it with one nostril at a time, closing the other with a finger. It is important that this is a pleasant and relaxing ritual: the psychological component is fundamental for complete recovery. In fact, we need to create new positive associations with scents and re-accustom the brain to listen to them.
Training the senses
A practice of listening to essential oils is very important for training the sense of smell, even when it is at its full capacity. Sommeliers, for example, work with a case of about 40 essential oils, which they use to refine their nose.
Our advice is to continue practicing aromatherapy even after recovering your sense of smell and to dedicate a few minutes of daily listening to the essential oils you love most.
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