A child wears a KN95 protective mask for kids arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022.
Children who have recovered from Covid-19 may experience a distorted sense of smell afterward, which could affect the foods they will eat, according to experts in the U.K.
"Parosmia" — when people experience strange and often unpleasant smell distortions — is relatively common after a Covid infection, with 250,000 adults in the U.K. estimated to have suffered parosmia as a result of having the coronavirus.
Experts say it could be a reason why children who have recovered from Covid might find it hard to eat foods they once loved.
Instead of smelling a lemon, for example, someone suffering from parosmia may smell rotting cabbage, or chocolate may smell like gasoline.
Leading U.K. smell expert Carl Philpott, a professor at the University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School, and charity Fifth Sense released guidance on Tuesday to help parents and health-care professionals better recognize the disorder and distinguish it from "fussy eating."
"Parosmia is thought to be a product of having less smell receptors working, which leads to only being able to pick up some of the components of a smell mixture,'" Philpott commented Tuesday.
"We know that an estimated 250,000 adults in the U.K. have suffered parosmia as a result of a Covid infection but in the last few months, particularly since Covid started sweeping through classrooms last September, we've become more and more aware that it's affecting children too."
He added: "In many cases the condition is putting children off their food, and many may be finding it difficult to eat at all."