# My cold is gone. I can breathe now. Why can I still not taste anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970 "2009-10-24T16:39:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/1 "2009-10-24T16:39:57Z")
In the past two days I’ve gotten over a head cold. While I was sick, I could not breathe through my nose. Also, I couldn’t smell anything, and nothing tasted like it had much flavor at all. The cold is gone. I still have some residual stuff to blow out of my nose every now and then, but for the most part, my breathing is free and clear. But I _still_ can’t smell anything. So I have two questions. What _is_ the reason you can’t smell anything when you have a cold? I assumed it was because the relevant part of your nostril is stuffed with junk that blocks the air out, preventing you from breathing and preventing you from being able to smell. But now I _can_ breathe, but I still can’t _smell_. Why not? The answer to that may answer my second question. When am I going to be able to taste things again? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/2 "2009-10-24T16:44:02Z")
Honestly that sounds kind of weird/serious. If it doesn’t get better fast I’d get to a doc. Being able to breath freely and still not smelling is unusual. If you were just _kinda_ able to breathe freely I could understand as mucus could still be blocking the receptors which are well back into the nasal; passage, but your scenario is worrisome. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/3 "2009-10-24T19:42:45Z")
It is pretty typical to be anosmic (without a sense of smell) after a viral infection. The virus knocked off the terminal sensory segments of the olfactory nerve, and it takes a while for them to regenerate. Sometimes they never do. Helpful illustration: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Head\_olfactory\_nerve.jpg/527px-Head\_olfactory\_nerve.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Head_olfactory_nerve.jpg/527px-Head_olfactory_nerve.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/4 "2009-10-24T20:10:02Z")
A bit TMI but a few minutes ago I sniffed a giant snort of a sniff and felt something quite chunky go down the esophagus, and then for one brief instant I could smell again. It went away. But I’m happy to report the potential for olfactory sense is there. Otherwise, this: > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The virus knocked off the terminal sensory segments of the olfactory nerve, and it takes a while for them to regenerate. **Sometimes they never do.** (emphasis added) would have me scared. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/5 "2009-10-24T21:13:11Z")
It’s taken a while for me to get my sense of smell back after a cold, too, I’ve noticed. The older you get, the longer it takes! I hope you didn’t use Zicam swabs. I have no cite at hand, but I’ve read somewhere that though they’re supposed to nip a cold in the bud:dubious: the ingredients can affect your sense of smell - perhaps permanently! ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/6 "2009-10-24T21:15:17Z")
Eeks. I haven’t been able to smell much for over a month now, (I looked it up the scientific term is “hyposmia”) but I haven’t gotten around to seeing a doc. **Salinqmind** , how long did it take for you to get your smell back? ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/7 "2009-10-24T21:21:17Z")
Wikipedia’s article on olfaction used to list an alternate theory by Luca Turin, in which the odor of a molecule is determined not by its shape but by its vibrational theory. The theory required that the olfactory nerve use a metallic element, and Turin found that a gene for scent encoded the use of zinc. There’s no evidence for this, not even any educated speculation, but I wonder if one of the reasons zinc cold remedies are perceived as having cured a cold is because the person had a zinc deficiency, and taking a dose restored their sense of smell. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/8 "2009-10-24T21:47:12Z")
I wonder what Turin says about the finding that Zinc, especially that found in cold remedies, causes anosmia? > **[Intranasal zinc and anosmia: the zinc-induced anosmia syndrome - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16467707/)** > > The zinc-induced anosmia syndrome, characterized by squirt, sniff, burn, and anosmia, occurs after the exposure of olfactory epithelium to zinc cation. It can be distinguished from postviral anosmia based on history. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/9 "2009-10-25T02:41:19Z")
My colds drag on and on, they last about a month. Far as I can remember from the last cold, 4-6 weeks before my sense of smell was back to normal. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cold-is-gone-i-can-breathe-now-why-can-i-still-not-taste-anything/514970/10 "2009-10-25T03:18:31Z")
I’ve had that problem before; mine seemed to be related to allergies and inflamed nasal passageways. Regular neti pot coupled with steroid nasal spray helped it pretty quickly.