Treat the loss of smell due to the coronavirus thanks to extreme cold sessions. This is what a team of French researchers recently suggested by providing the first evidence of results
- A loss of sense of smell can have repercussions on the way we eat, on our social relationships and even on the perception of certain dangers.
- Cryotherapy could contribute to better blood circulation and help relieve chronic pain as well as better recover after exercise.
- 28 of the 30 patients who participated in the study and who had cryotherapy sessions regained their sense of smell.
Headaches, body aches, shortness of breath, disappearance of taste… These different symptoms indicate a Covid-19 infection. Among the suggestive signs of the disease, we also find the loss of smell, also called “anosmia”. This is one of the most troublesome side effects of the coronavirus. After its appearance, some regain their sense of smell after a few weeks, others do not smell anything for several months.
Researchers from the CHU and the University of Reims, in partnership with the cryotherapy center Cryotera, seem to have found the solution to put an end to anosmia. In a study published in the The Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine January 13, they indicated that cryotherapy could make it possible to regain the sense of smell after contracting Covid-19. As a reminder, cryotherapy is a method that consists of exposing your body to extreme cold for a few minutes, i.e. at temperatures below -110°C and up to -170°C.
Cryotherapy, the remedy to fight against anosmia
To reach this conclusion, the scientists recruited 45 people (32 women and 13 men) with anosmia caused by coronavirus infection. They divided them into two groups. The first did not carry out cold therapy. The other participants completed two to five cryotherapy sessions. The authors of the work evaluated the olfactory capacities of the patients before and after carrying out this method, then a week later.
According to the results, people who exposed their bodies to intense cold regained their sense of smell a few days after the experience. “The sessions seem to be safe and no adverse effects were observed. The return of olfactory abilities was less significant in patients who received two cryotherapy sessions”can we read in the research.
“The results obtained are satisfactory and demonstrate a significant impact of cryotherapy on the loss of smell post Covid-19”, said to France 3 Guillaume Polidori, Director of the Cryotera Research Center. The researchers clarified that further studies need to be conducted to confirm its findings.
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