Introduction – July 31, 2021

Curiously last winter doctors in the UK reported a big drop in the number of cold and flu cases. Was it a coincidence that this happened simultaneously with a sudden “surge” in Covid cases diagnosed?

Or were doctors misdiagnosing common Cold and Flu cases as Covid-19? After all, tens of thousands die annually from seasonal Colds and Flu, most of the deaths occurring among the very old or those with pre-existing condition; the very same who succumb to Covid-19.

These deaths occur every year, to quote from an article that appeared before the current media hysteria over Covid-19:

The data from the ONS (Office of National Statistics) showed a rise of 28,189 deaths in 2015 (5.6%), from 501,424 in 2014 to 529,613 in 2015. This is the highest number since 2003, when there were 539,151 deaths. The percentage increase in 2015 is the largest year-on-year rise since 1967 to 1968 (6.3%). (Number of deaths in England and Wales hits 12-year high)

All of this leads to the question: is Covid-19 really just another variant of seasonal Cold and Flu, like Hong Kong Flu, which killed over 30,000 in the UK in 1968 and over a million worldwide?

After all, we’ve regularly seen pandemics sweep the globe every few years, which have accounted for many thousands of deaths: Hong Kong Flu, the Asian Flu pandemic of 1957 and so on.

The difference now is the wall-to-wall media fear-mongering and the drive for mass vaccination with what even the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) admits are still experimental vaccines.

Yes, the NIH claims that the “vaccines are highly effective” but it omits to mention the mounting reports of its adverse effects. All of which leads one to wonder: why the global drive to implement mass vaccination against an ailment that is little worse than seasonal flu with a vaccine that often has an impact worse than Covid-19?  Ed.

Loss Of Smell And Taste NOT Unique To COVID Infections — It’s A Common Symptom Of ALL Colds and Flu

Christians For Truth – July 29, 2021

It turns out that hyposmia — the loss of smell and taste — allegedly one of the most “unique” identifying symptoms of COVID that the “experts” have been promoting during the “pandemic” to instill fear in the public — is not so unique after all — in fact, the most common cause of loss of smell and taste is the common cold/flu:

…The perception of different odours is triggered when microscopic particles are breathed in and dissolve in mucous membranes in the nose. Receptor cells in the nose then send signals via the olfactory nerve to receptors in the brain, to an area known as the olfactory bulb. This also sends information to be processed further in other brain areas associated with such things as emotion, memory and learning — which is why some smells can remind us of certain memories or trigger specific feelings…

‘Our ability to smell is based on a complex process which can easily be disrupted at different stages,’ says Michael Papesch, an ear, nose and throat consultant surgeon at Whipps Cross University Hospital in London. ‘If any part of the chain is broken or damaged, then smell is not registered by the brain and all scents would be the same: sniffing a rose would be like sniffing cardboard.’

People who have lost their sense of smell completely — as a result of trauma or infection damaging olfactory receptors — can still perceive such strong scents as ammonia or menthol. This is because these stimulate pain or temperature-sensitive nerves in a process known as chemesthesis, where signals bypass the olfactory bulb and are passed directly to the higher centre of the brain to trigger a sensation.

We may take it for granted, but a loss of sense of smell (hyposmia if it is partial, anosmia if total) can affect your health. For instance, our sense of taste is closely connected with smell because the same nerves and parts of the brain are involved in both. So losing our sense of smell can make us add sugar or salt to food to make it ‘taste’ better, indirectly contributing to such problems as obesity and high blood pressure.

Here are some reasons why your sense of smell could be diminished…

GETTING OLD

‘Our sense of smell declines as we get older probably because the number of olfactory sensors reduces considerably,’ says Martin Rossor, a neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. This is because cells die faster than they can be replaced. Smell that declines with age is known as presbyosmia and is not preventable. However, catching a cold can make things worse so make sure you wash hands frequently and avoid people who are infected.

TAKING MEDICINE

Antibiotics may interfere with the sense of smell, as can some antidepressants, anti-inflammatories and heart medications. ‘Quite a few common medicines can interfere with your sense of smell, possibly by directly affecting sensory receptors in the nose,’ says Dr Colin Cable, assistant chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. ‘The effect usually wears off soon after stopping the medication. Generally, an alternative medicine can be found.’ Antibiotics that can cause smell loss include ampicillin, used to treat urinary tract infections and types of meningitis, and azithromycin, used to treat some ear infections as well as pneumonia.

Antidepressants linked to loss of smell include doxepin and amitriptyline (also used to treat chronic pain caused by nerve damage). Some ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure, including captopril, can alter smell, as can angina drug glyceryl trinitrate. Statins [for high cholesterol], the most commonly prescribed medications in the UK, may interfere with taste and smell. There are a number of ways these medications affect smell, including blocking nerve pathways and altering the mucous layers of the mouth so odour molecules can’t dissolve easily in mucous membranes surrounding the olfactory cells.

NASAL GROWTHS

Nasal polyps are soft, non-cancerous growths in the nasal passages, usually affecting adults with chronic inflammation in the nose. This can be through chronic sinusitis or other respiratory conditions (between 20 and 40 per cent of people with nasal polyps also have asthma, according to the NHS). They are thought to form when the lining of the nose becomes increasingly swollen, eventually hanging down in teardrop shapes. They affect up to 4 per cent of the population and are twice as common in men as in women. ‘They’re common and many cause no symptoms,’ says Mr Papesch. ‘Polyps cause obstruction which prevents odour molecules entering….’

HAVING A VIRUS

Colds and flu are the most common causes of hyposmia because upper respiratory infections block the passage of odour molecules. ‘Rarely, a viral infection can permanently damage the olfactory nerves so that smells cannot be processed in the brain,’ says Professor Rossor. A blocked nose mutes smells and makes food taste bland. Tastebuds can detect only sweet, sour, bitter, salt and umami (savoury); all other ‘tastes’ are combinations or variations of these and are interpreted by the nose’s olfactory cells….

IS IT DEPRESSION?

Many people who are depressed report finding it difficult to distinguish odours. When they are treated successfully, their sense of smell improves. A 2014 study of brain scans, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, found depressed women showed reduced activation in areas of the brain associated with smell. One theory is that depression is accompanied by changes to the limbic network of the brain that underpins emotions, long-term memory and sense of smell.

DEMENTIA LINK

Alzheimer’s can reduce ability to smell. This is due to amyloid plaques (tangles of proteins) which kill brain cells, causing memory loss and impaired speech and cognition. They can also damage brain cells which pass signals from the olfactory bulb, says Dr Ian Le Guillou, of the Alzheimer’s Society’s research and development team….As a great deal of research shows that Alzheimer’s-related brain shrinkage starts on the left side of the brain, this could be a significant marker for the disease to aid early diagnosis.

CANCER DRUGS

Chemotherapy often causes partial or complete loss of smell, says Dr Marina Parton, a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. ‘I treat lots of women with breast cancer and many tell me their senses of taste and smell are greatly reduced. They tend to prefer sharp and sweet or sour flavours.’ It is thought the drugs damage the mouth’s mucous layers….Dr Parton says most people should regain their senses of smell and taste three to six months after treatment has stopped.

Many studies have claimed that loss of smell and taste is the “single-best predictor” for diagnosing COVID — and even the elites at Harvard make this claim — and this false “proof” of COVID has been dutifully repeated as “truth” in every media outlet around the world.

What they don’t tell you is that the loss of smell and taste is the “single-best predictor” of a common cold or flu.

Since “COVID” is allegedly similar to the seasonal flu, it would be unusual if patients did not experience some sort of loss of smell and taste.

And given the vast majority of COVID patients are elderly, many of them have many of the conditions — such as cancer, pneumonia, depression, and dementia — that also contribute to the loss of smell and taste.

Also, there can be no doubt that a large percentage of people hospitalized for COVID were treated with antibiotics — which cause the loss of smell and taste — making a bad symptom worse.

But some will point out that the loss of taste and smell for some COVID patients has been permanent — again, this is not unique to COVID — and has been observed in many post-viral patients.

So the next time someone tries to tell you that their sister experienced the loss of smell and taste is “proof” that she had COVID and not just the regular flu, you will now know be able to disappoint them that their sister probably had nothing more than the common cold.

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