The symptoms of COVID can vary wildly, from headaches to digestive disturbances to extreme fatigue. However, there’s one set of symptoms that’s become a hallmark of the virus around the world: a loss of taste and smell. According to a meta-analysis of 8,438 COVID patients published by the Mayo Clinic, 41 percent of individuals with confirmed cases of the virus experienced the loss of their sense of smell or taste. Though many people regain their ability to taste and smell as they recover from the virus, those senses aren’t always the same when they return. According to a new report from Eater, there’s one particular food many individuals who’ve recovered from COVID simply can’t stomach anymore. Read on to find out what it is, and for more signs you could be sick, check out If You Can’t Smell These 2 Things, You May Have COVID.
Among a group of five individuals who’ve recovered from COVID and were subsequently interviewed by Eater, three said that onions stuck out as a particularly unpalatable food months after their infection had subsided. One former COVID patient described onions as “horrific” to taste and another described them as “repulsive,” while a third said that the scent of onions had become so noxious that they smelled “putrid” and “dangerous.”
That’s not the only perplexing alteration to your sense of taste or smell you may experience post-COVID, however. According to one person interviewed by the BBC, COVID had made meat products taste like gasoline; and a Newsweek interviewee who’d recovered from COVID said that wine “tastes like oil” post-infection.
While a distorted sense of smell or taste may be an unpleasant lingering COVID symptom, it’s far from the only one troubling those recovering from the virus. Read on to discover what researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and members of the Survivor Corps group found to be the most common lingering symptoms among COVID long haulers. And for the latest on the spread of the virus, check out Dr. Fauci Just Gave This Scary Update on the New COVID Strain.
10
Dizziness
COVID long haulers affected: 42 percent
9
Memory problems
COVID long haulers affected: 46 percent
And for more long-term symptoms to be aware of, check out The Disturbing New Symptom of Long COVID Doctors Want You to Know.
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Anxiety
COVID long haulers affected: 48 percent
7
Difficulty sleeping
COVID long haulers affected: 50 percent
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6
Headache
COVID long haulers affected: 58 percent
5
Inability to exercise or be active
COVID long haulers affected: 59 percent
And for more on what’s causing fatigue in COVID patients, know that If You Feel Tired After This, You May Have Had COVID.
4
Difficulty concentrating or focusing
COVID long haulers affected: 59 percent
3
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
COVID long haulers affected: 65 percent
And for more on what could stick around after recovering from the virus, check out why Dr. Fauci Just Warned of These “Disturbing” Long COVID Symptoms.
2
Muscle or body aches
COVID long haulers affected: 67 percent
1
Fatigue
COVID long haulers affected: 100 percent
And for more on the latest in fight against the pandemic, beware that This Is How Much You’ll Be Fined for Violating Biden’s New Mask Mandate.