Sequelae of COVID 19 in taste and smell: a brief literature review
Viruses are a living being that is not formed by cellular structure. Viruses can be transmitted by direct contact with infected individuals or indirectly from contaminated surfaces. Defined as a new variety of coronaviruses, COVID 19 made the World Health Organization (WHO) declare in early 2020 a crisis in global public health. Considering the high transmissibility of this virus, it was necessary to adopt measures to prevent transmission and infection. Symptoms caused by COVID-19 are usually fever, dry cough, shortness of breath (dyspnea), tiredness (fatigue), sore throat, headache, and diarrhea. Other symptoms, to a lesser extent are anosmia (loss of smell), hyposmia (decreased smell) and ageusia (loss of sense of taste). The objective of this was to review the last two years on the sequelae of COVID 19 in taste and smell. A brief literature review was conducted in scientific articles on the sequelae of COVID 19 in taste and smell, between 2020 and 2021, in Portuguese, in the Google Scholar search database. Women and young people are the most affected by the sequelae of taste and smell caused by COVID-19. there are no specific and scientifically proven treatments to the various dysfunctions, but the most indicated is the practice of olfactory training. Studies related to dysfunctions are limited, mainly, in Brazil and when they are analyzed as sequelae. The continuity of scientific research is indispensable, because only this process will be able to elucidate the doubts that still exist and generate appropriate treatments for people who developed COVID-19.