Losing taste and smell is nothing trivial. With Covid-19 nearly a million patients have been affected. And, consequence: 25% of them would develop malnutrition and 30% would also have associated depressive disorders.
For help them find this meaning, an application was born: CovidAnsomie. Professor Fabrice Denis, doctor at the Jean Bernard Center in Le Mans, created this application, in partnership with a Lille start-up Kelindi. The objective is to help people whose loss of sense of smell persists after illness. According to the first results of the study, it would be effective at 71%. Out of 5,040 patients tested via the app. 9% were cured, 58% saw improvements (patients with anosmia for more than 6 months). In the first 10 days, 63% notice an improvement, the figure being increased to 78% between 11 and 36 days of treatment.
Motivate to regain the sense of smell
The app has a recovery protocol in place “via twice-daily use of high-concentration aromatic oils (smells known to the patient as lavender, coffee, vanilla)”. In addition, a visual stimulation module guided by the application makes it possible “to accelerate the regeneration of olfactory neuronal circuits damaged by the virus.”
What patients suffering from anosmia often testify to is the difficulty of rehabilitating themselves and the associated loss of motivation. Professor Fabrice Denis explains to Figaro this June 2 that the objective is “to support patients in their sessions with short tutorials, motivational notifications and self-assessment, but above all to optimize rehabilitation by combining images with olfactory simulations”.
Read also:
- Anosmia: a (very simple) exercise in olfactory rehabilitation
- Covid-19: how to eat without taste or smell?
