Coronavirus: Sniffing coffee could predict COVID-19, claim researchers; here’s how it works
Coffee could help predict COVID risk at home
A diminished loss of smell and taste, also referred to as anosmia is perhaps one of the biggest mysteries with COVID-19.
Neither there is any assigned treatment for it, nor a way to detect it. For many patients with COVID-19, anosmia could be the only recognizable sign of infection and linger on for a long time.
Perhaps the most confusing thing about a diminished sense of smell is that despite a high occurrence rate amongst infected individuals, not a lot of people are able to recognize it as a typical COVID symptom- unless or until they sniff or smell something, which is one of the reasons why COVID+ patients are asked to undergo regular sniff checks.
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So, keeping that in mind, scientists have now developed a unique COVID loss of smell/taste test which involves a simple everyday use ingredient- hot coffee.
Now, scientists have devised the practical coffee test of sorts- a sniffing test if you could call it to help people diagnose an infection early on.
How the ‘coffee test’ could help with diagnosis
Since sudden unexplained anosmia can strike a COVID patient anytime, scientists feel that employing a regular sniff test can act as a screening measure and emerge as another tool in the fight against COVID.
Some also suggest that employing sniff and smell tests could be a better COVID indicator than a simple fever check.
The test could also come in handy in cases of asymptomatic transmission, wherein a person’s ability to distinguish scents and smells can go away, but no other typical COVID symptoms remain.
How can coffee detect COVID-19?
Unlike a diminished sense of smell which strikes with a blocked nose or sinusitis infection, people who have COVID-19 can feel indifferent to simple smells. Some go on to suggest that they find it hard to differentiate wine from gasoline, spices, milk and other related odours.
Now, one reason why coffee in particular has been given prime importance with COVID sniff tests is because of its distinct taste and smell. Researchers have found anecdotal evidence to showcase exactly how coffee, with its strong, distinct aroma can act as a loss of smell indicator.
According to experts, given how anosmia is a widely present symptom in COVID cases, global availability of coffee can make it an easier test to apply.
A Tufts University Professor, James Schwob, one of the lead researchers to make a case for the coffee test says that it could also act out as an early sign of when to call the doctor:
“One of the things that can be done pretty easily, pretty objectively by someone at home would be to take some ground coffee and see how far away you can hold it and still smell it,”
He also suggests that the same thing could be done with scents like rubbing alcohol, chocolate or shampoo.
Coffee could act as a good indicator
One other reason coffee sniff tests could deliver accurate results is because coffee, as an ingredient does not have any real taste but just a distinct smell. Adds Professor Schwob, “If you discover that coffee has no taste or chocolate seems to no longer have any taste other than bitterness or sweetness, then it’s likely that you may be experiencing smell loss. When you chew food, molecules go up through the rim of the nasal cavity to reach the olfactory receptors at the top of the nose. For that reason, things like coffee and chocolate do not have any ‘taste’ — it’s really a smell.”
On a clinical level, coffee has also been employed as a rapid, low-cost testing mechanism and used in certain olfactory test strips as well. More evidence emerged of coffee as a strong preventive tool when a Brazilian neurologist, Sofia Mermelstein suspected a case of COVID-19 after she failed to recognize or sniff her daily dose of Brazilian coffee beans.
What other scents can COVID-19 patients not identify?
Apart from bitter foods like coffee, scientists have also narrowed down that there are certain other odours which COVID infected patients find it hard to smell- coconut oil and peppermint scent. The promising piece of research was identified by researchers from the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute Mohali and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh.
How long does this symptom last?
While loss of smell and taste associated with COVID-19 could be one of the most common signs, it could persist for a while, depending on a patient's symptoms and disease progression. For some, it could vanish away in a week, but for many, it could persist for longer, and make many lose out on their ability to distinguish or recognize distinct smells.
Many also require a sort of smell training, which assists with neurochemical rewiring of the brain, if the issue lingers on for longer than two months.
What we should know
While this remains to be an ambitious example of how COVID-19 symptoms can be recognized, a simple coffee, or food test could act as a good indicator of COVID-19 infection, till the time stronger, or medically reliable tests do not come out. Any loss of smell can alert the individual and help them take the necessary precautions.
However, as a precautionary note, scientists and experts do say that a simple coffee test shouldn't be seen as a COVID indicator. Patients should still be self-checking their symptoms, practice precautions and of course, follow good sanitary protocols to keep others safe.