Retrain your sense of smell after covid Anosmia.
What is Anosmia?
Simply put the loss of smell that occurs from time to time, say after a cold or covid.
Can you retrain your sense of smell?
Professor Hummel ran a study in 2009 at the University of Dresden, where he devised a technique that you can try at home, using four different fragrances –
You will need:
- four essential oils – rose, lemon, cloves and eucalyptus
- a supply of cotton wool pads (or perfume-testing strips, if you can get hold of some)
- Start with one oil – it doesn’t matter which – and put a few drops on the pad.
- Leave the fragrance to develop for a couple of minutes, then bring the pad to within an inch of your nose and breathe naturally through your nose. Don’t try too hard and inhale sharply – if you do, you’re unlikely to smell anything.
- Move the pad away, then bring it back up to your nose and inhale again. Do this several times with the same oil.
- Then take a break for five minutes before repeating the process with the next essential oil.
- Aim to do the training twice a day, in the morning and evening.
Don’t be discouraged if you can’t smell anything at first. Anecdotal evidence from anosmia sufferers who’ve tried the technique suggests that it may take at least a week before you get a hint of any fragrance.
For best results, researchers recommend that you follow the smell training for six months.
Why these 4 oils?
They come from different fragrance families
Rose – floral
Lemon – citrus
Clove – spicy
Eucalyptus – resinous
You can buy them discounted as a set – Anosmia set.