COVID and loss of taste: what should you know?

Taste and smell work together when you experience flavour. COVID-19 can affect the sensory pathways involved in smell and taste, while congestion can prevent aromas from reaching the smell receptors. Food may seem bland, metallic or different, and appetite may fall.

Loss of taste does not prove that COVID-19 is the cause. It may occur with a common cold or other nasal and mouth problems. If the change continues after the infection has settled, it may fit a post-viral problem such as Long COVID or another condition that deserves assessment.

Eat small, balanced meals and keep fluids nearby. Use texture, temperature and mild herbs to make food more appealing, but avoid adding excessive salt or sugar to compensate. Check food dates carefully because reduced taste can make spoiled food harder to notice; use smoke and gas alarms as usual.

Follow current local advice about testing and limiting close contact when you have respiratory symptoms. Seek professional advice before using nasal products or supplements marketed for taste recovery.

Seek urgent help for breathing difficulty, new confusion, severe dehydration or inability to swallow. Arrange a clinical review if taste loss persists, affects nutrition, follows a head injury, occurs with mouth sores or neurological symptoms, or causes marked distress.

Ask whether testing or an examination is appropriate, whether congestion or medicines could explain the change, how to protect nutrition and food safety, and when persistent symptoms should be reassessed.