Methylene blue, parosmia/phantom smell, & pregnancy

tori.m.

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With all the chat lately about the benefits of methylene blue re:covid, I'm wanting to try it out starting in low doses in order to experiment with my covid-induced phantom smell/parosmia issues. I likely got covid in December and recovered in a few days no problem (while 4 months pregnant). I lost my smell for a few weeks but it eventually returned–although not to it's original state. About 3 months later, I began smelling completely inaccurate smells (ex: eggs, coffee, onions, garlic, my toothpaste, and rosemary all have a similar "covid" smell). I know several others who are also struggling with this frustrating issue. It truly makes eating a lot less enjoyable since my beloved eggs, meat & coffee smell terrible at the moment. This is especially unfortunate during pregnancy (currently 33 weeks-ish).

Based on the research I've done so far, there are two running theories for covid-induced parosmia:
(1) Nerve ending & olfactory bulb damage: I know this isn't the best source, but a study concluded that an overactive immune response to covid damages the nerve endings related to olfactory neurotransmitters.

(2) Axon miswiring: "Parosmia may occur when newly grown stem cells that develop into neurons in the nose attempt to extend their long fibers, called axons, through tiny holes in the base of the skull and connect with a structure in the brain called the olfactory bulb. Sometimes axons connect to the wrong place, causing erratic smell, but the miswiring can potentially correct itself, given enough time.": Mysteries of COVID Smell Loss Finally Yield Some Answers

Two terrible sources but it's all I could find in my limited capacity to understand the latest research (I looked on NCBI & PubMed to no avail).

Possible treatments could include olfactory bulb retraining which is basically smelling a bunch of different essential oils daily for 24 weeks, topical steroids, or some kind of anti-inflammatory that treats nerve damage.

I'm super interested in experimenting with methylene blue, considering its mitochondrial energy & antiviral benefits. However, I have't found much information on using MB during pregnancy. I'd love some insight on the use of MB during pregnancy as well as possible other things to try that could resolve parosmia post-infection.
 
B

Blaze

Guest
With all the chat lately about the benefits of methylene blue re:covid, I'm wanting to try it out starting in low doses in order to experiment with my covid-induced phantom smell/parosmia issues. I likely got covid in December and recovered in a few days no problem (while 4 months pregnant). I lost my smell for a few weeks but it eventually returned–although not to it's original state. About 3 months later, I began smelling completely inaccurate smells (ex: eggs, coffee, onions, garlic, my toothpaste, and rosemary all have a similar "covid" smell). I know several others who are also struggling with this frustrating issue. It truly makes eating a lot less enjoyable since my beloved eggs, meat & coffee smell terrible at the moment. This is especially unfortunate during pregnancy (currently 33 weeks-ish).

Based on the research I've done so far, there are two running theories for covid-induced parosmia:
(1) Nerve ending & olfactory bulb damage: I know this isn't the best source, but a study concluded that an overactive immune response to covid damages the nerve endings related to olfactory neurotransmitters.

(2) Axon miswiring: "Parosmia may occur when newly grown stem cells that develop into neurons in the nose attempt to extend their long fibers, called axons, through tiny holes in the base of the skull and connect with a structure in the brain called the olfactory bulb. Sometimes axons connect to the wrong place, causing erratic smell, but the miswiring can potentially correct itself, given enough time.": Mysteries of COVID Smell Loss Finally Yield Some Answers

Two terrible sources but it's all I could find in my limited capacity to understand the latest research (I looked on NCBI & PubMed to no avail).

Possible treatments could include olfactory bulb retraining which is basically smelling a bunch of different essential oils daily for 24 weeks, topical steroids, or some kind of anti-inflammatory that treats nerve damage.

I'm super interested in experimenting with methylene blue, considering its mitochondrial energy & antiviral benefits. However, I have't found much information on using MB during pregnancy. I'd love some insight on the use of MB during pregnancy as well as possible other things to try that could resolve parosmia post-infection.
I had a similar experience with smells. It resolved eventually on it's own but it took more than 6 months to return to normal. I take methylene blue but not sure if it was what helped to resolve the issue.
 

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