The Ugly Side of Long COVID in Your Twenties

Oct 17, 2024

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Do you know someone who got COVID and has never felt quite right since? For most people aged 20-30 long covid may never have been a concern but for some their symptoms have become a daily reminder of why masking up and social distancing was so important. And with coronavirus cases rising again with no restrictions in place these stories might encourage you to sing happy birthday an extra time when you’re washing your hands.

A cartoon image of a large pile of food, including fruits and vegetables as well as a roast chicken and meats and cheeses looking perfectly cooked but shoved in a bin. The bin lid is held open by the amount of food which looks out of place put in the bin — Food in a bin

Long covid is a condition that affects 1 in 20 people after contracting the COVID-19 virus, it has a huge range of symptoms including Fatigue, Shortness of breath, Chest pain, Joint pain and even heart palpitations. This wasn’t the case for one 22 year old living in Worcestershire.

After catching covid in February 2021 Laia Chapman from Apperly started to notice her sense of taste and smell change. “I worked in a local supermarket and that’s where I think I got covid.’ She said, “I didn’t even have any major symptoms I just felt unwell like a cold.” “Then after a few weeks everything started to taste and smell like a rubbish bin.” She said, “I couldn’t even put my favourite foods near me because everything made me gag.”

This condition, Parosmia is thought to be caused by specialist nerve cells in the nose being damaged and unable to detect or translate smells in the normal way and is surprisingly common in people who have had COVID-19

With 65% of people who contract covid losing their sense of smell and taste (Anosmia) it is estimated that 10% of those will go onto develop Parosmia and is often not a problem until up to a dew moths after you’ve tested positive again.

“I was losing weight rapidly because I couldn’t keep anything down.” Laia explained that even her social life was impacted. “I couldn’t go to restaurants with my friends and bars or clubs were totally out of the question because I felt so weak and alcohol smelled like rotting flesh.”

“It was Hell on earth”

Long COVID and effects like parosmia are a relatively new phenomenon but there is a lot of research being done to work out the causes and develop treatments.

With many potential causes like the virus’s effect on the immune system and how it could potentially cause organ damage leading to long term symptoms. However Physical, occupational, and speech therapy can help individuals with long COVID manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life as well as Dietary changes, exercise, and stress management techniques playing a role in recovery.

Laia concluded “Nowadays I’m gradually able to tolerate more and I’ve even got a few of my favourite foods back like chips.”

For support with the effects of long covid visit

https://www.longcovid.org/