How long does taste take to return after COVID?

What people call taste is strongly influenced by smell. COVID-19 can reduce smell and make food seem bland even when the basic tastes of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savoury remain. Dry mouth, a coated tongue, nasal congestion, and some medicines can also change flavour. As smell returns, flavours may seem unusually strong, metallic, or unpleasant before becoming more familiar. Loss of taste can occur with COVID-19, but it does not by itself establish the cause.

Choose foods with different textures and temperatures if flavour is muted, and keep meals balanced with foods you can tolerate. Sip fluids regularly and pay attention to oral hygiene. If cooking smells are difficult, use mild ingredients and avoid adding extra salt or sugar to compensate. Reduced smell and taste can affect food safety, so follow use-by guidance and ask someone else to check suspicious food. Do not take supplements marketed to restore taste without professional advice.

Speak with a clinician if taste loss persists, causes weight loss, makes eating difficult, or comes with mouth pain, ulcers, marked dryness, or new neurological symptoms. Get urgent help for breathing difficulty, confusion, sudden weakness, or inability to keep fluids down. An assessment can consider smell loss, nasal problems, oral health, medicines, and possible Long COVID. Persistent low mood or fatigue related to eating and recovery is also worth mentioning.

Is my flavour change more likely to reflect reduced smell, an oral problem, or both? Are any of my medicines contributing? What support is available if eating remains difficult?