Anosmia from common cold?

[Anonymous]

I came down with a head cold this past weekend with pretty run of the mill symptoms - sinus congestion, runny nose, post nasal drip sore throat. I've been managing symptoms with Afrin, sudafed and tylenol. I'm COVID negative (according to both rapid antigen and a PCR test). However, I've lost all sense of smell and taste. This has never happened to me before with a cold. Has anyone experienced anosmia due the common cold and if so, how long did it take for your smell/taste to come back?

[Anonymous]

Honestly I would do a second PCR test

[Anonymous]

It may not be a common cold!

[Anonymous]

Are you still congested? If the congestion is over or just mild, then I would be concerned about covid. If you are still significantly congested, then that could explain the loss of smell and taste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you still congested? If the congestion is over or just mild, then I would be concerned about covid. If you are still significantly congested, then that could explain the loss of smell and taste.

When I take afrin, the congestion clears up temporarily but I still can't smell or taste anything

[Anonymous]

This happens to me with a lot of colds, but not all.

[Anonymous]

Yes, this can happen with a cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happens to me with a lot of colds, but not all.

How long does it last for you?

[Anonymous]

This happens to me frequently with common colds. It also happened to me with covid.

The difference was that with covid, I lost it 100% for 2+ weeks. With the common cold, I lost it for 24 hours, max.

[Anonymous]

How much afrin are you using? I have no idea if that's related, but you really aren't supposed to use it for more than 3 days in a row.