'It takes time.': Doctor on fixing picky eating for kids amid COVID loss of smell, taste
WASHINGTON (7News) — Doctors say the loss of taste and smell after contracting COVID-19 in kids is leading to weight loss and in some cases, disordered eating -- But this is something parents can navigate relatively easily.
7News Adrianna Hopkins talked with Children’s National Hospital Infectious Disease Dr. Alexandra Yonts, and she says kids who’ve had their taste or smell altered by COVID describe foods as rotten or rancid.
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Some stop eating or only eat what tastes good. She explained it’s because your brain is misinterpreting the signals from your nose and taste buds. The fix is “olfactory retraining” and you can do it at home.
“It is fixable. It takes time. It can take six months to a year in some cases, but that time can be shortened in the retraining protocols and being a little bit more aggressive about it, but it is reversible. It’s super easy. You smell 4 different essential oils for 10 seconds, twice a day, and you can buy the kit on Amazon. But you really have to make sure that’s what you’re targeting and treating,” said Yonts.
She emphasizes parents need to check with their child’s pediatrician to make sure this is a post-COVID issue and not something else like a sinus infection.
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