Some of the symptoms that might indicate a person has contracted the COVID-19 virus is a fever, a persistent dry cough, and shortness of breath. Those aren’t particularly specific and could also be potentially related to other illnesses. This means that sometimes when a patient comes in with a fever, it can be difficult to determine if doctors should use a COVID-19 test kit on them.However, it seems that doctors have recently identified another potential symptom that could help with the screening process. According to doctors, they are now calling for a loss of sense of smell and/or taste to be added to the list of screening tools for the COVID-19 virus. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery has published on its website claiming that there is anecdotal evidence that suggests that anosmia and dysgeusia could be potential signs.
The academy writes, “Anosmia, in particular, has been seen in patients ultimately testing positive for the coronavirus with no other symptoms.” They add, “Anosmia, hyposmia, and dysgeusia in the absence of other respiratory disease such as allergic rhinitis, acute rhinosinusitis, or chronic rhinosinusitis should alert physicians to the possibility of COVID-19 infection and warrant serious consideration for self-isolation and testing of these individuals.”
This decision doesn’t come as a complete surprise, especially given that in the past, a sudden loss of smell has been associated with certain respiratory infections.
Filed in . Read more about Coronavirus, Covid-19 and Health. Source: edition.cnn