u-Smell-it

Man showing business graph on wood table

What Research shows

u-Smell-it test is a Pre-Corona test. Research shows that our nose is a powerful secret weapon to help identify COVID-19 as up to 85% of people infected with the coronavirus experience loss of smell.1

Identifying loss of smell, aka anosmia, is a 5-10 times more specific indicator than a temperature test.2 3

This is due to the nature of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which binds ACE2 Receptors that are enriched -500 fold in top of the nose.4

Thus a unique feature of COVID-19 is a loss of smell even without a stuffy or runny nose that is typical of the flu.5

Need Smell Test?

But do we need a smell test (aka a chemosensory test)? Yes!

When any of our 5 senses are altered to properly determine this requires a sensitive and standardized test, such as a vision test or hearing test -especially when there is only partial alteration. Same with smell – this requires a quantitative smell (aka olfactory) test. For the loss of smell maybe very subtle and not noticed. There can be other effects such as foods may
taste different.

Our u-Smell-it cards are designed to detect what is hidden and are noticed and optimized. To help detect for Covid-19 induced loss of smell in a format that is fast, inexpensive, accurate and even fun.

This is not a diagnostic test rather an indicator that you may have loss of smell and may give false positive or negative results.

Smell Research

‘COVID’s toll on smell and taste: what scientists do and don’t know’ – by Nature

Nature posted about researchers are studying the sensory impact of the coronavirus, how long it lasts and what can be done to treat it. This article explaines how many people with COVID-19 lose their sense of smell, the reason people with COVID-19 lose their sense of smell, how long they lose the sense of smell […]

Loss of Smell, Taste a Hallmark of COVID-19

Study found loss of smell and taste symptoms with Covid-19 often occur before other symptoms

Loss of taste and smell are common in COVID-19 patients, and it often occurs before other symptoms, a new study says.

Olfactory transmucosal – Coronavirus ( Covid-19) entry point to the brain?

Nature featured ‘Olfactory transmucosal SARS-CoV-2 invasion as a port of central nervous system entry in individuals with COVID-19’

All about the Smell; ‘ Fifth Sense’ that we can learn all about the background on smell

“Fifth Sense exists to provide support and advice to people affected by smell and taste-related disorders, and so that society can understand what it means to suffer impairment of one or both of these senses.” This is their statement.

Inverse Posted – “Coronavirus Two Sensory Symptoms Are Warning Signs Of COVID-19 Infection”

Growing evidence suggests clinicians might have overlooked a key clue present before those hallmark symptoms hit: the sudden loss of smell or taste.

Objective Sensory Testing Methods Reveal a Higher Prevalence of Olfactory Loss in COVID-19–Positive Patients Compared to Subjective Methods - by Oxford Academic

Oxford Academic Posted; Objective Sensory Testing Methods Reveal a Higher Prevalence of Olfactory Loss in COVID-19–Positive Patients Compared to Subjective Methods

Abstract; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has currently infected over 6.5 million people worldwide. In response to the pandemic, numerous studies have tried to identify the causes and symptoms of the disease. Emerging evidence supports recently acquired anosmia (complete loss of smell) and hyposmia (partial loss of […]

References

1.a Smell and Taste Dysfunction in Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

1.b Anosmia in COVID-19 patients

2.a Coronavirus loss of smell: ‘Meat tastes like petrol’ from BBC News

2.b Boston Researchers Developing Coronavirus Smell Test

2.c Body temperature screening to identify SARS-CoV-2 infected young adult travellers is ineffective

3.a The best COVID-19 predictor is recent smell loss: a cross-sectional study

3.b SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Serologic Responses from a Sample of U.S. Navy Service Members. – USS Theodore Roosevelt, April 2020

4.a An Introduction to COVID-19 Tests

4.b COVID-19: Kids’ Noses May Carry More Virus Than Adults’

5. UNC coronavirus study shows why it’s important to wear a mask that covers your nose