Lost Sense of Smell May Be Peculiar Clue to Coronavirus Infection
A mother who was infected with the coronavirus couldn’t smell her baby’s full diaper. Cooks who can usually name every spice in a restaurant dish can’t smell curry or garlic, and food tastes bland. Others say they can’t pick up the sweet scent of shampoo or the foul odor of kitty litter.
Anosmia, the loss of sense of smell, and ageusia, an accompanying diminished sense of taste, have emerged as peculiar telltale signs of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and possible markers of infection.
On Friday, British ear, nose and throat doctors, citing reports from colleagues around the world, called on adults who lose their senses of smell to isolate themselves for seven days, even if they have no other symptoms, to slow the disease’s spread. The published data is limited, but doctors are concerned enough to raise warnings.
“We really want to raise awareness that this is a sign of infection and that anyone who develops loss of sense of smell should self-isolate,” Prof. Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society, wrote in an email. “It could contribute to slowing transmission and save lives.”
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/health/coronavirus-symptoms-smell-taste.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
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Sweet scents like roses and lavendar and most artificial fragrances like those added to detergents and air fresheners torture me.
I used to sneeze, non-stop when exposed to them. Now that I live on Zyrtec, I just get headaches and turn really, really bitchy. I avoid the stores around Valentine's Day and Mother's day since the smelly flowers are all over the place.
Right now ligustrums (aka privet) are in bloom here - they give my sinusitis, and constantly runny nose, and even with Zyrtec, sneezing. I have to be really careful in public so people don't think I am coming down with coronavirus. 
