Unraveling the Hidden Scents: The Necessity of a Smell Test

 

Why is a smell test (also known as a chemosensory test) necessary? Can’t we simply tell if our sense of smell is impaired?

When any of our five senses are affected, accurately assessing the extent of the alteration requires a sensitive and standardized test, similar to a vision or hearing test, especially when there is only partial impairment. The same applies to our sense of smell; it necessitates a quantitative smell (or olfactory) test. Loss of smell can be subtle and go unnoticed, and it may have additional effects, such as altered taste perception.

Our U-Smell-It® olfactory cards are designed to detect what may be hidden and are optimized for speed, affordability, accuracy and to prevent cheating.

This validated olfactory test is a FDA registered class 2 exempt medical device.  The test can indicate if you have  loss of smell but it is not a diagnostic tool for a specific disease.

Do you smell it?

Smell Research

Smelling Trouble: Olfactory Dysfunction Linked to Higher Cardiovascular Risk

This recent article, published in Scientific Reports, provides further support and expands upon previous research indicating a connection between olfactory dysfunction (OD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

‘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 […]

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.

References

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

Smell and Taste dysfunction in patients with Covid-19, Asystematic review and meta-analysis

1.b Anosmia in COVID-19 patients

Smell and Taste dysfunction in patients with Covid-19, Asystematic review and meta-analysis

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

Coronavirus loss of smell, meat tastes like petrol

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

Sars-Coronavirus 2 infections and serologic responses from a sample of U.S. navy service members