– I miss all kinds of smells. Both good and bad, says Ådne Svendsen. He is one of many Norwegians who have had a reduced sense of smell. It was before Christmas in 2020 that Ådne was infected with the covid-19 virus. After recovering, he nevertheless noticed that something was not quite as it should be. The sense of smell was lost or “confused”. At the start, he could smell “phantom smells” that were obviously not there. – For example, I could feel that there was a strong smell of cigarette smoke from people who did not smoke. It was very strange. Other smells, such as coffee in the morning and dung that was spread on the fields, were gone, he says. Getting help He still has major problems with his sense of smell. That is why he has sought help. The hospital in Gjøvik is one of the few places in the country with a special offer for this patient group. Tests are carried out at the ear-nose-throat outpatient clinic. – We offer a test that can demonstrate the extent to which the sense of smell has been reduced. The patient must then go through an exercise program at home, explains nurse Elisabeth Sletten. The polyclinic in Gjøvik started smell testing in autumn 2020. The two nurses who work there have received training at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim. CONCENTRATED: Ådne Svendsen tries as best he can to smell what the markers contain. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news Blindfold Ådne must be blindfolded during the first part of the smell test in order to concentrate. He then smells markers with different strengths and substances. The survey is divided into three parts. In the first part, he must identify the markers that have the most strength. The second part is about distinguishing different smells. In the third part, he will try to recognize specific smells. – Apple, says Ådne after thinking for a while. The blindfold is taken off and in his hand he holds a sheet of paper that he is allowed to look at with various familiar smells that he can choose from. The test is summarized by a score. In Ådne’s case, the results confirm that he has so-called hyposmia, or a reduced sense of smell. You can do this yourself to train your sense of smell Clean your nose if it is blocked or runny. Use salt water spray, and blow your nose well. Choose things you know well and remember how they smell. For example coffee, lemon, rose or eucalyptus. Take at least 20 seconds to really smell the thing. Try to remember what it smells like. Do the exercise twice a day. Seek help from your GP if the problem lasts for more than a couple of months. Source: Health Norway/WHO Several reasons There is uncertainty about how many people have no sense of smell or have a reduced sense of smell. The problem has been brought up to date in connection with corona. Studies suggest that around 20 per cent of those who get corona experience a loss of taste and smell when they are ill. For many of these, the problems persist long afterwards. Elisabeth Sletten says that most of the patients they have had for testing in Gjøvik, however, are people with common respiratory infections such as sinus infections or the common cold. – Then we have had some people who have come because they have had an injury, i.e. received trauma to the head. And then we have someone who has had covid, she says. Sletten believes that the offer of smell testing is not well known both among the public and GPs. She suspects that more people should have been referred to the outpatient clinic. SCENT MARKS: It takes about an hour to smell your way through the entire test set with markers that nurse Elisabeth Sletten has prepared. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news Training at home There is no simple treatment to regain the sense of smell. What is recommended is an exercise program that the patients themselves must carry out at home. You have to buy four specific oils with the scents of lemon, rose, eucalyptus and peppermint. Every morning and every evening for four months, you must carry out an olfactory training with the oils. The patients are then called in for a new test to see if there is any progress. Ådne Svendsen hopes the training will have an effect. – It is clear that when you get up in the morning and love coffee and don’t smell anything, then a part of life is missing. I hope that this will be able to help me, he says.
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Ådne Svendsen tries to regain her sense of smell with the help of experts at Gjøvik Hospital – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
