She said meat and tomatoes now smell particularly offensive, and wine now tastes like “drinking hot butter.”

A woman dealing with the aftermath of a COVID-19 infection has reported an unusual side-effect that has impacted her sense of smell.
Chandra Drew, 38, from West Virginia in the US, is suffering from a condition called parosmia.
It means that everything around her smells rotten, like off meat, burning grease or petrol.
At first, Chandra couldn’t taste or smell anything after becoming infected with coronavirus six months ago, The Mirror reports.
But suddenly she went from not smelling anything, to everything smelling foul.
Parosmia distorts the natural smell of things and makes them smell off-putting or even vomit-inducing.
Eating ‘a chore’
It means Chandra has found it difficult to eat because the smell of food makes her feel sick.
She has lost 15kg since the onset of the condition.
“Eating is a chore since it basically tastes the same as what I smell,” she told The Mirror.
“Rotting meat is exactly what it tastes like.
“It is something you do not want up your mouth or your nasal passage.”
She said meat and tomatoes now smell particularly offensive, and wine now tastes like “drinking hot butter.”
“It is disgusting,” she said.
“I made my son a bagel with cream cheese, but it tasted rancid to me. I had to spit it out.”
Cooking is now a nightmare, as Chandra experiences a barrage of unpleasant aromas.
She said even the smell of cucumbers made her feel nauseous.
Waiting it out
It’s estimated that thousands of people have experienced parosmia after contracting COVID-19.
Sufferers report smelling everything from the aroma of petrol and cigarette smoke to chemicals and even faeces.
The only salvation is that parosmia is a sign that the smell function is returning after it’s lost in the early stages of COVID.
Sufferers simply have to wait it out and hope the ugly smells disappear sooner rather than later.
“When you smell you son’s hair when you snuggle in the morning, it’s just little things that you miss,” Chandra said.
“His hair smells bad to me because of the shampoo.
“It’s been a challenge mentally.”
‘It’s been a challenge mentally.’
Chandra tested positive to COVID on April 4 after experiencing mild-flu like symptoms and tiredness.
Part of the reason she decided to get tested was that she realised she couldn’t smell obvious odours, like the smoke from her home fire pit.
She said the initial loss of smell was bad enough - but parosmia is worse.
“I’ve lost 35 pounds (15kg),” she said.

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