Some patients complain that they areunable to smell things or to taste food after a bout of influenza. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Connecticut first reported the problem and have been looking into it.
It can happen to people who suffer from flu or upper respiratory infections, said Robert Frank, a University of Cincinnati psychophysicist. It is common for sufferers with colds or the flu to lose their sense of smell--and, as a result, their ability to taste--briefly during the time of the ailment. But, Frank said, some peopledo not regain their sense of smell for months, or longer.
Take it back to 1988.