NHS worker urges vaccine uptake after Long Covid left her with plagued by phantom smells
An NHS manager says that Long Covid has completely "turned her life upside down" - leaving her plagued by phantom smells which make food taste like rotting meat.Sally McCreith, head of medical education for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has experienced lingering effects of the virus since she contracted it in September last year.
The 31 year old days even brushing her teeth has become an ordeal, as her condition makes it feel like she is "brushing my teeth with ashes".
It's down to a condition called parosmia, where smells and tastes are distorted, which was considered rare before the pandemic.
What is Long Covid?
Around one in five people with coronavirus may go on to experience Long Covid, according to data from the Office of National statistics.
People have reported a huge range of different symptoms including severe fatigue, chest paints, joint pains, migraines, problems with digestion, brain fog, confusion, and a loss of taste or smell, or a chance in taste or smell, such as those Sally is experiencing.
Sally says that while she and her husband stuck to the rules, she didn't feel too anxious about Covid until they both caught it in quick succession.Sally said: "My perception of how dangerous it is completely changed."
Sally has lost two stone since September, thanks to the ongoing parosmia, and now has to be very restrictive in what she eats to avoid feeling sick.
She has also experienced brain fog, breathlessness, and memory lapses.
She is now sharing her story " to remind people to be careful and protect themselves. All my friends are racing to get the vaccine after seeing the impact COVID-19has had on me."
RELATED: