1. List the deficit and how it came about. What risk factors, genetic conditions, or other reasons contributed to the development of this issue?
I got COVID-19 this year and experienced a loss of taste and smell. The sensory disturbance associated with COVID-19 infection is thought to occur because the virus (SARS-CoV-2) attacks and damages cells such as the olfactory epithelium of the nose and the olfactory bulb of the tongue, which send signals to the brain about smell and taste. (M., 2022). COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus related to SARS-CoV, which is classified as a "betacoronavirus belonging to the subgenus Sarbecovirus" (Ciotti et al., 2020). The main symptoms are fever, sore throat and cough, fatigue, headache, loss of taste and smell, or difficulty breathing, etc.
A study by Sandra Gonzalez Gompf revealed that SARS-CoV-2 targets and attacks those cells' surface receptors called ACE2, which are abundant in the nose and mouth (Gompf, 2020). Also, Cazzolla et al. found a significant correlation between elevated interleukin-6 levels and sensory impairment after COVID-19 infection (Cazzolla et al., 2020). At the same time, symptoms tended to improve as interleukin-6 levels decreased gradually. Many people, including myself, who experience sensory disturbances associated with COVID-19 regain their senses within a month, but others, like my colleagues, do not regain their senses for 2-3 months or more than half a year. Those people may experience difficulty eating and may become malnourished, and lose significant weight.
COVID-19 is an infectious disease, and the chances of contracting it are not significantly related to genetic factors or gene expression. However, some characteristics of those more likely to experience sequelae, such as taste and smell disorders, are becoming more evident. There are also various variants (subspecies) of SARS-CoV-2. Cardoso et al. investigated how likely and to what extent patients infected with each type experienced sensory disturbances. They point out that the type of virus they infect and the patient's genetic susceptibility to the virus may be risk factors for olfactory dysfunction (Cardoso et al., 2022). In addition, it is known that the expression of ACE2 receptors, which cause sensory disturbance when attacked by the virus mentioned earlier, is low in children and increases with age. It can therefore be inferred that adults are relatively more likely than children to experience sensory disturbances associated with COVID-19.
2. What help is available for your condition? Are there local services, family, friends, or help through the workplace that can help you adapt to life without the sense?
I do not have a family, so I don't have anyone to take care of me, and if I can not go to work and can not get paid, I can not pay school fees, and I can not even eat. I was infected with COVID-19 by a large-scale cluster at my company, so I could receive 100% of my salary even though I did not work at all during I was away from work in quarantine. This system instituted by the company helped me to rest and recover slowly. I feel that being able to take a lot of time to recover my body has helped me a lot in improving my sensory impairment. Also, my friends asked me what kind of food I could eat or if there was anything I wanted to eat because I could not smell. And they delivered food that I could eat without uncomfortableness every day. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
3. What would you do in this situation? What parts of your life do you think this condition would affect the most?
For many people, food is one of life's pleasures. For me, delicious food and alcohol are the greatest pleasures of my life. Losing our sense of taste and smell means we cannot experience this pleasure. I was really worried about what I would do if I didn't get my senses back for the rest of my life. Luckily, my senses returned in less than a month, but I found eating without my sense of taste and smell very painful. A well-balanced, nutritious diet is essential for recovery and sensory function, but some people may choose not to eat without the support of family and friends. Like this, loss of taste and smell may make people less motivated to do various activities and make eating nutrients that are indispensable for recovering from sensory disturbances challenging.
Thank you, professor. (734 words)
References
Cardoso, C. C., Rossi, Á. D., Galliez, R. M., Faffe, D. S., Tanuri, A., & Castiñeiras, T. M. P. P. (2022). Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients With Mild COVID-19 During Gamma, Delta, and Omicron Waves in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. JAMA, 328(6), 582–583. Retrieved from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2793811
Cazzolla, A. P., Lovero, R., Lo Muzio, L., Testa, N. F., Schirinzi, A., Palmieri, G., Pozzessere, P., Procacci, V., Di Comite, M., Ciavarella, D., Pepe, M., De Ruvo, C., Crincoli, V., Di Serio, F., & Santacroce, L. (2020). Taste and Smell Disorders in COVID-19 Patients: Role of Interleukin-6. ACS chemical neuroscience, 11(17), 2774–2781. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00447
Ciotti, M., Ciccozzi, M., Terrinoni, A., Jiang, W. C., Wang, C. B., & Bernardini, S. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic. Critical reviews in clinical laboratory sciences, 57(6), 365-388. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408363.2020.1783198
Gompf, S. G. (2020). SARS symptoms, causes, treatment, prevention & transmission. MedicineNet. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.medicinenet.com/severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_sars/article.htm
M., S. (2022). When do you lose your sense of smell and taste with covid-19? MedicineNet. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.medicinenet.com/loss_of_sense_of_smell_and_taste_with_covid-19/article.htm
댓글