Fragrance expert helps COVID-19 patients learn to smell again

Angela Moore, Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/05/18/health-coronavirus-smell-recovery.jpg"/><figcaption>Perfumer Sue Phillips works with her client, Josh Goldenberg, who lost his sense of smell as a result of coronavirus disease in her studio in New York City, May 14, 2021. <em>Brendan McDermid, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>NEW YORK—After 13-year-old Sahil Shah lost his sense of smell to COVID-19 in November, his parents looked everywhere for help.</p><p>&quot;We met with neurologists, neurosurgeons, ENT specialists, and all of them said if it was supposed to come back, it would have come back by now,&quot; said Sahil&#x27;s father, Pratik Shah.</p><p>But six months later, the teenager from Chicago still had no sense of smell or taste.</p><p>The family sought help from an unlikely source - New York fragrance expert Sue Phillips. She has helped develop and market perfumes for Elizabeth Arden, Lancome and Tiffany &amp; Co, and now runs her own company, Scenterprises.</p><p>&quot;So let me tell you, first of all, I am not a doctor. I&#x27;m not a scientist. I&#x27;m not even a chemist,&quot; Phillips told a client at her boutique on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/18/21/pfizer-moderna-vaccines-effective-against-indian-variants-study">Pfizer, Moderna vaccines effective against Indian variants: study</a></li></ul><p>To begin the process of helping people learn to smell again, Phillips sets up an array of 18 custom-blended fragrances. Starting with the lighter notes such as rose, lavender and mint, Phillips hands one scented blotter strip at a time to her client.</p><p>If there is no response, she uses more robust scents, such as spice and musk.</p><p>&quot;What&#x27;s been happening is we&#x27;re training people to, I like to say, smell with your brain... I can see almost the fog lifting. And then they can start to smell again. And it&#x27;s really amazing,&quot; Phillips said.</p><p>After visiting Philips, Shah&#x27;s father said Sahil&#x27;s smell is now at about 25%. &quot;It&#x27;s better than zero.&quot;</p><p>A panel of experts recommended in a <a href="https://bit.ly/3iD6D9B" target="_blank">paper</a> published in January in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that COVID-19 patients who lost their sense of smell receive a form of &quot;smell rehab&quot; known as olfactory training. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/18/21/us-to-send-extra-20-mln-vaccine-doses-abroad-says-white-house">US to send extra 20 mln vaccine doses abroad, says White House</a></li></ul><p>Harvard University neuroscientist Venkatesh Murthy said some smells can trigger memories and emotions and Phillips may be on to something.</p><p>&quot;By trying various different fragrances, maybe for a particular person, you hit upon one or two things that the leftover sense of smell is able to perceive,&quot; he said, adding there was no harm in trying to use scents to restore smell. <em>(Reporting by Angela Moore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)</em></p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/18/21/philippines-covid19-cases-update-may182021">PH logs 4,487 new COVID-19 cases</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1687650" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>A panel of experts recommended in a paper that COVID-19 patients who lost their sense of smell receive a form of "smell rehab" known as olfactory training.</p>

A panel of experts recommended in a paper that COVID-19 patients who lost their sense of smell receive a form of "smell rehab" known as olfactory training.

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Fragrance expert helps COVID-19 patients learn to smell again

Fragrance expert helps COVID-19 patients learn to smell again

Angela Moore,

Reuters

Published May 19, 2021 03:22 AM PHT

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