This app could help some former COVID-19 patients get their sense of smell back

LOSS of smell is a well-known symptom of COVID-19. To recover it and get it in good working order, olfactory rehabilitation is sometimes necessary. This is what prompted a French doctor to create CovidAnosmi.

Mission: regain one's sense of smell. People who have been infected with COVID-19 and who have lost their sense of smell can now rely on an application to coach them in their olfactory rehabilitation. Completely free of charge, CovidAnosmi provides a structured program for the recovery of the sense of smell based on a scientific study.

The program was put together by oncologist Fabrice Denis, a doctor at the Jean Bernard Center in Le Mans and a specialist in digital health applications, along with Lille-based start-up Kelindi. This application allows you to follow a process of smelling training.

The process involves smelling essential oils of known smells such as coffee or vanilla twice a day to boost your chances of regaining your sense of smell more quickly. The app offers support to accelerate the regeneration of the olfactory neural circuits damaged by the virus.

The online application has been tested on more than 500 patients to measure the impact of the protocol.

And the results are in. In the clinical study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the researchers noted encouraging results, but they took time. After a minimum of 28 days of rehabilitation, 73% of patients reported a significant improvement in their disorder. This rate rose to 78% after more than two months of rehabilitation.

This solution could improve the lives of patients who suffer from a smell disorder. A symptom that can lead to eating disorders for a quarter of them and depressive disorders for 30% of patients, according to French statistics.