Researchers from the University of Barcelona aimed to examine the loss of taste and smell that many coronavirus patients experience. A group of 35 coronavirus positive patients and a control group in the same gender and age group were surveyed, and symptoms were measured with absence/presence responses.
More than 68% of the patients reported at least one "nasal" symptom. The coronavirus positive group also experienced "a strange sensation in the nose" and excessive nasal dryness notably more than the control group. These symptoms mainly occurred simultaneously with the loss of taste and smell, and largely before or during the other symptoms of coronavirus. On average, the nasal symptoms lasted for twelve days.
The early phenomenon of nasal symptoms could possibly enable early diagnosis of coronavirus and, in turn, encourage social distancing efforts early on.