When Stephanie Padden contracted COVID-19 last September, she started out with a cough but thought it could be attributed to California wildfires. She also felt achy but figured it was because she had been helping her son move. Then, she lost her sense of taste and smell and that gave her pause. 맥스카지노�I couldn맥스카지노�t explain that away,맥스카지노� Padden, 58, said. She went and got tested. It came back positive for COVID-19. Months later, Padden still hasn맥스카지노�t fully regained her sense of smell. 맥스카지노�I맥스카지노�ll try anything맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�I맥스카지노�ll try anything, and I맥스카지노�ve tried a lot of things,맥스카지노� she said. Zinc, Vitamin D3, cinnamon capsules and fish oil to name a few. Certain techniques are more far-fetched than others. Popularized via TikTok, some people have been charring oranges, peeling the skin and mixing the fruit with brown sugar. That method did not work for Padden. In her dogged search for answers, she came across UC Davis Health맥스카지노�s Post COVID-19 Clinic. Experts there are examining those who have survived the virus but suffer lingering symptoms.Eventually, she was able to enroll and was connected with Dr. Toby Steele, an assistant professor of otolaryngology who has been treating patients who are suffering from loss of sense of smell, known as anosmia.One of the smell-retraining methods he recommended to her was something she had encountered in her own research. It맥스카지노�s called olfactory training.맥스카지노�Olfactory training is essentially based on this principle that you can practice smelling. And by practice smelling you can sort of regenerate some of those smell nerves,맥스카지노� he said.As part of this smell training, he has his patients purchase four different essential oils 맥스카지노� rose, eucalyptus, lemon and clove. Two times a day, they are to smell one oil for 10 to 15 seconds, let their mind rest and then move on to the next oil.맥스카지노�And what that맥스카지노�s doing is sort of reestablishing that processing center and reteaching your brain to sort of understand what these smells are,맥스카지노� Steele said.A second therapy, which doesn맥스카지노�t have as much scientific backing, is a sinus wash with a medicine that decreases inflammation.맥스카지노�We know that setting up this environment where the smell nerves can function helps you succeed with olfactory training,맥스카지노� Steele said. 맥스카지노�You맥스카지노�re missing more than you know맥스카지노� For Padden and the many other COVID-19 survivors who haven맥스카지노�t fully regained their sense of smell, it맥스카지노�s been frustrating and saddening at times. Some 86% of people with mild coronavirus cases lose their sense of smell and taste but recover it within about six months, a recent study of over 2,500 patients from 18 European hospitals found. Their sense of smell returned after about 18 to 21 days, the study found, but about 5% of people had not recovered olfactory function at six months.The study also noted that only about 4% to 7% of people with COVID-19 symptoms described as moderate or severe lost their ability to smell and taste. Joshua Lickter, a Roseville, California, pastor and coffee shop owner, contracted COVID-19 in November. He still can맥스카지노�t smell and taste like he once did. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s like the difference between eating a fresh orange and eating something that맥스카지노�s flavored with orange,맥스카지노� said Lickter, who맥스카지노�s also been dealing with other long-term symptoms like fatigue and exhaustion. Like Padden, Angelo Torres, 31, of Stockton, California, suspected he had COVID-19 once he couldn맥스카지노�t smell or taste food. He remembers the moment vividly: An order from Wingstop that was seemingly devoid of flavor or appetizing smell. That was in spring of last year. As of last week, certain foods still didn맥스카지노�t taste the same. Torres says he also still gets random bouts of fatigue. There맥스카지노�s a safety aspect associated with being able to smell, too. Sense of smell helps people gauge when food may be spoiled. Smelling smoke could also alert you to a nearby fire. In Texas last month, a family who lost their sense of smell because of COVID-19 nearly died when a blaze tore their house and they didn맥스카지노�t smell the smoke. Beyond that, being able to smell certain things is simply just nice sometimes.Padden, who cross-country skis in Minnesota during the winter, can맥스카지노�t smell the pine while she recreates.맥스카지노�There맥스카지노�s comforting things, like when you come home to your house and it smells like your house, or you kiss your husband and he smells like his aftershave or his deodorant,맥스카지노� she said. 맥스카지노�Just the comforting things that you know you hold onto 맥스카지노� you맥스카지노�re devoid of all of it. It just leaves a really weird, unsettling, uncomfortable 맥스카지노� you맥스카지노�re missing something. You맥스카지노�re missing more than you know.맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�Don맥스카지노�t give up맥스카지노� Padden, however, says she has reason for optimism in her quest to smell again. A few weeks ago, she thought she was able to detect the odors of essential oils she had been sniffing. So she blindfolded herself and had her husband test her. She identified them correctly.맥스카지노�Either that맥스카지노�s working or maybe it맥스카지노�s coming back on its own,맥스카지노� she said. 맥스카지노�I mean, it맥스카지노�s hard to say. But I definitely think that smell training seems to be helping because the more I do it, the stronger then scent seems to me.맥스카지노� She says she맥스카지노�s been experiencing parosmia, a distorted sense of smell. That could be an encouraging sign.맥스카지노�The people who have persistent smell loss, and we맥스카지노�re talking on the sort of duration of months, are often describing what we call phantosmias or parosmias, and these are these sort of phantom odors like you smell cigarette smoke or you smell the sewer and sometimes that맥스카지노�s a precursor to return of sense of smell,맥스카지노� Steele said. 맥스카지노�So that맥스카지노�s what a lot of patients will describe to me, but that맥스카지노�s also an area under study.맥스카지노�For people who had COVID-19 months ago and still can맥스카지노�t smell properly, Steele says there맥스카지노�s still hope.맥스카지노�Don맥스카지노�t give up. There are reports of people regaining their smell after two years, and what we tend to see is some type of regrowth after a year,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�So if it맥스카지노�s been three months, the window for recovery hasn맥스카지노�t elapsed yet.맥스카지노� COVID-19 has also put a spotlight on the work of doctors like Steele. What used to be a niche field 맥스카지노�is now being recognized in scientific communities and funded for research.맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�And so we will likely come out of this with some excellent new therapies for loss of smell,맥스카지노� Steele said. CNN contributed to this report.