November 12, 2020, 7:45 am
We’re still in the process of discovering what symptoms or long-term side effects may be related to COVID-19, and some of them seem out of left field for what was originally thought to be simply a respiratory virus.
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Something that’s gotten more attention in the last few months is that people who have contracted the novel coronavirus sometimes lose their sense of taste and/or smell. For some people, these symptoms only seem to last a few weeks, but for others, doctors are worried it may be a long-term effect. The bottom line is just that there’s still so much we don’t know.
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But one man who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 decided to test how far not being able to taste or smell anything goes.
His loss of those two senses is the only symptom Russell Donnelly has experienced so far, after testing positive for the virus less than a week ago.
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“Everyone keeps telling me to eat nasty stuff, but I don’t have any nasty stuff in my house, so I figured I’d just eat some stuff that would be strong or pungent…just to see what it’s like,” he announced in the first of several TikTok videos he has already dedicated to his quest.
In that video, Donnelly chomps down on a red onion, which he follows with a shot of lemon juice, before swallowing a spoonful of garlic paste.
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All of those food products are so strong, watching him eat them is almost painful. But Donnelly himself has absolutely no reaction.
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Subsequent videos have him drinking orange juice after brushing his teeth, taking shots of vinegar, and sticking wasabi in the middle of an Oreo, among other decisions that would be absolutely horrifying if he had any sense of taste whatsoever.
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The rapid pace of Donnelly’s food intake serves to highlight just how little his body is reacting to the choices he’s making, and in turn, just how severe the loss of taste and smell can be in COVID-19 patients.
Donnelly told BuzzFeed that his “body still reacts chemically” to the food choices. “It’s just like the taste buds are turned off,” he said. “I did lemon juice a couple times actually and if I hold it in my mouth for an extended period of time, my mouth kinda shrivels up like it does when you taste something sour, but there is no flavor.”
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While he (obviously) hopes to get his missing senses back eventually, Donnelly seems to be making the most of his time in isolation. Let’s just hope his senses don’t miraculously return in the middle of one of these wacky taste tests. Some of these flavor combos could be enough to make someone never want to eat again.
*First Published: November 12, 2020, 7:45 am
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