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 "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," said Sahil's father, Pratik Shah.
But six months later, the teenager from Chicago still had no sense
of smell or taste.
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 & Co, and now runs her own
company, Scenterprises.
"So let me tell you, first of all, I am not a doctor. I'm not a
scientist. I'm not even a chemist," Phillips told a client at her
boutique on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
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.
If there is no response, she uses more robust scents, such as spice
and musk.
"What's been happening is we'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's really amazing."
[to top of second column] |
 After visiting Philips, Shah's
father said Sahil's smell is now at about 25%.
"It's better than zero."
A panel of experts recommended in a paper
https://bit.ly/3iD6D9B 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 "smell rehab" known as
olfactory training.
Harvard University neuroscientist Venkatesh
Murthy said some smells can trigger memories and
emotions and Phillips may be on to something.
"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," he said, adding there was no harm
in trying to use scents to restore smell.
(Reporting by Angela Moore; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
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