# What causes loss of smell during a cold?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-loss-of-smell-during-a-cold/809096>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 19, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-loss-of-smell-during-a-cold/809096 "2018-02-19T02:51:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-loss-of-smell-during-a-cold/809096/1 "2018-02-19T02:51:35Z")

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I have a cold (or something coldlike), but for about half of the day today have been able to breathe okay through my nose. Yet, I still have no sense of smell.

Which leads to my question. What is the cause of the loss of smell during a cold? Also is there anything I can do to help it return?

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**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-loss-of-smell-during-a-cold/809096/2 "2018-02-19T07:31:00Z")

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The virus damages the olfactory nerves. It’s usually ([but not always](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fd37/a1672985c4c25ebf76e5aaf40b36cf48ba51.pdf)) temporary.

> [@](#):
>
> Survey studies on the general population affected by olfactory  
> pathology show that disorders in the sense of smell  
> reach 19% of the population, ranging from 0.5% for anosmic  
> individuals and 17% for hyposmic individuals, depending on  
> whether you take international or local studies1,2; for absolute  
> loss of the sense of smell alone, the variation ranges  
> from 2% to 3%. Among the most frequent causes are the  
> common cold and flu…
> 
> Postviral olfactory dysfunction  
> is believed to be provoked by lesions in the olfactory  
> receptor cells.20,21 Consequently, it is a syndrome characterised  
> by sudden loss of the sense of smell after an upper  
> airway infection. When the infection is cured, the olfactory  
> alteration generally persists as the only nasal symptom,22  
> which can present different degrees of olfactory disorder  
> (hyposmia, anosmia, etc.).