Smell, involuntary memory and COVID-19
Arts & Life editor Carly Taylor describes how reading Proust helped her make sense of her own olfactory distortion after recovering from COVID-19. (Photo: Pexels)
on February 3, 2021
It started on New Years Day. I sat down with my family for a steaming dinner of the holiday’s American staples corned beef, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes and collard greens. It was delicious, except for one thing the food produced a strange sensation in my nose, identical for each component of the meal. I figured I must have a cold or something.
I know what you’re thinking it’s COVID-19! but the thing is, I’d already contracted and recovered from the virus just two months ago. I lost my sense of taste and smell for a few bleak days, but they returned within a week or so.