- Researchers at the University of Barcelona found that a range of nasal issues can be an early indication of a coronavirus infection.
- Some coronavirus patients involved in the study experienced nasal dryness while others felt a strange sensation inside their nasal cavity.
A new study carried out by researchers at the University of Barcelona found that some people with the coronavirus experienced a range of nasal symptoms before more common symptoms began to manifest. Specifically, the study found that symptoms such as nasal dryness may actually be a precursor to a coronavirus patient losing their ability to taste and smell. In some instances, it’s worth pointing out, the nasal symptoms occurred alongside the loss of taste and smell.
The clinical group also experienced “a strange sensation in the nose” and excessive nasal dryness more often than the control group. In addition, 52 percent of the clinical group reported a constant sensation of having had a strong nasal douche.
Only three percent of the control group (those without COVID-19) reported the same thing. The researchers noted “nasal symptoms predominately co-occurred with anosmia or hyposmia”.
All told, the list of coronavirus symptoms has grown quite a bit as doctors and health researchers continue to learn more about the virus. That said, the most common symptoms still tend to be flu-like in nature, which is to say fever, coughing, and fatigue tend to be the symptoms coronavirus patients experience more often than not.
Alongside that, a recent study from Northwestern Medicine found that 82% of coronavirus patients who have symptoms severe enough to warrant hospitalization also experience a range of neurological symptoms at some point during their sickness. The list of common neurological symptoms includes memory loss, confusion, and an inability to concentrate on a task for a prolonged period of time.
What’s particularly scary is that many coronavirus patients experience lingering neurological issues even weeks and months after leaving the hospital. Some studies have shown that older coronavirus patients are more likely to experience the aforementioned neurological issues for sustained periods of time.
Additionally, there is mounting evidence that coronavirus survivors can exhibit signs of lung and heart damage months after their initial diagnosis. Further, even asymptomatic patients can show signs of lung and heart damage months down the line.
“We found to our dismay that a number of individuals who have completely recovered and apparently are asymptomatic, when they have sensitive imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance, imaging, or MRI, have found to have a disturbing number of individuals who have inflammation of the heart,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said back in September.
“When you have inflammation you can have scarring,” Fauci added. “That could lead to arrhythmias later on or lead to cardiomyopathies.”
