Smell Training

A fever, cough or loss of smell and taste are criteria for a Covid-19 test, but what if you have different symptoms? James Gallagher discusses whether more symptoms should be added to the UK government's list with resident GP, Margaret McCartney and Dr Thomas Struyf of KU Leuven.

Cardiologist Dr Rohin Francis explains what symptoms he sees when patients with coronavirus arrive in hospital.

One of the most common symptoms of Covid-19 is the loss of the sense of smell. It returns after a few weeks in most people but a significant minority still can’t smell anything many months later. James Gallagher talks to Prof Carl Philpott of Norwich Medical School who has led an international panel of nose doctors, assessing the evidence for the best therapies to restore the olfactory sense to people who have lost it following respiratory infections. So-called smell training comes out top as the most evidence-based approach. Carl explains how it works and we hear from two people who are trying to regain their sense of smell.

And Dr Carly Welch from the British Geriatric Society says that delirium has emerged as another symptom of Covid-19, particularly in the elderly.