Coffee is known for its life-affirming neuron-boosting aroma, however now people around the world are using it as a home diagnostic tool for detecting COVID19 infection. Experts have said that it might help in curbing ongoing pandemic across the world. A DCN review of scientific text and subjective advice from experts of taste and smell has found dozens of examples where coffee is treated as an indicator for a type of sniff test for COVID19 due to its distinct smell and its global availability in households. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has listed loss of smell or anosmia as one of the most common symptoms of coronavirus on its website. Past studies have shown that nearly 50 to 80 percent of people are diagnosed with COVID19 if they suffer from anosmia.
Experts have said that people who deal with COVID19 provoked anosmia ultimately get their sense of smell and tastefully recovered. It might be good news for coffee professionals who depend on olfactory observations to perform the most critical part of their job. Earlier experts have been concerned that the virus might affect the neurons that make olfactory links, which can alter long-term olfactory abilities. Considering the incidence of anosmia in COVID19 patients, a high number of patients without symptoms, and the availability of coffee, health experts have been advising people to wear the mask and smell the coffee. Experts have said that people need to hold some ground coffee in hand as long as they can and see if they are still able to smell it. It can be done easily at home by anyone, said the experts. People can do the same thing with alcohol or shampoo as well. If people find it hard to recognize by sniffing it, it might be the time to get them tested for COVID19.
Dr. Richard Doty from the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has said the same thing about the taste of the coffee. He has said that if people are not able to taste coffee or they feel that chocolate does not have any taste other than bitterness or sweetness then they might be dealing with the loss of smell. Experts have said that while chewing the food molecules go up to the rim of the nasal cavity to land at the olfactory receptors at the top of the nose, this is the reason coffee or chocolate does not have any taste rather it has a kind of smell. Experts have been testing this method on a larger scale using coffee in an olfactory test strip. A study, which has been published in the British journal BMJ, has asked health professionals to use coffee as a diagnostic tool. Although, loss of smell is linked to COVID19, however, not everybody has this symptom. Health experts have said that a medically legitimate test cannot be replaced by smelling coffee.
