FOLLOWING COVID, ELLIE JOTTE '23 FIGHTS TO REGAIN HER SENSE OF SMELL

Back in October 2020, Ellie Jotte '23 experienced several symptoms related to a COVID-19 infection, including a sore throat, runny nose and a loss of smell. Four months later, she has yet to fully regain her sense of smell. Ellie's mother, Sonia, began researching and seeking out treatments to help Ellie recover. Hoping to retrigger her brain to recognize certain smells, Ellie has committed to smell essential oils daily, similar to a study now being conducted at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Their new "olfaction training" clinic studies children and teens, ages five and older, who have a similar loss of smell. Participants are asked to smell four essential oils twice per day for three months in an effort to assist them to regain their sense of smell. While Ellie is not enrolled in this clinic, she believes that through repeated exposure to certain odors, she can increase her sensitivity and retrain her nose to communicate with her brain. She hopes her efforts will serve to help others as well experiencing similar lingering effects from the virus.
Read the full article in The Colorado Sun