Loss Of Taste Or Smell
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Pacific Clinical Labs
COVID Testing Site located in Santa Monica, CA
If you suddenly find that you can’t smell or taste, you may be anxiously wondering whether or not you’ve contracted COVID-19. Stop fretting and find out if your loss of taste or smell is a COVID symptom by getting tested at Pacific Clinical Labs in Santa Monica, California. The physician-run practice offers highly accurate, highly sensitive COVID testing with same-day results. Don’t let anxiety consume you. Instead, book your COVID test with Pacific Clinical Labs online or over the phone today.
Loss of taste or Smell Q & A
Does a loss of taste or smell mean that I have COVID-19?
The loss of your sense of taste and/or your sense of smell is one of the many symptoms of COVID-19. Other symptoms include:
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Cough
- Headache
- Chills
Whether you’ve only lost your sense of taste or smell, or you have more than one of the symptoms listed above, you may or may not have COVID-19. Many other ailments can cause the loss of taste or smell, including:
- A sinus infection
- The common cold
- Allergies or hay fever
- Nasal polyps (growths in your nose)
- The flu
Because its symptoms are so similar to those of other respiratory illnesses such as these, the only way to know for sure whether or not you’re positive for COVID-19 is through testing.
How can I determine the cause of my loss of taste or smell?
If you’re experiencing a loss of taste or smell and you want to know if you have COVID-19, schedule a visit to Pacific Clinical Labs for testing. While you wait for your appointment, your best course of action is to stay home, rest, and isolate yourself. Record your symptoms, and note any changes.
The practice determines whether or not your loss of taste or smell is from COVID-19 using PCR testing, which detects the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in your body. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that leads to active COVID-19 infection.
In order to collect a test sample, the team at Pacific Clinical Labs can perform either a nasal swabbing or an oral swabbing. Both are effective. Once they’ve gathered the sample, the team mixes the swab with special chemicals designed to find and extract any viral RNA (genetic material) present.
From there, your Pacific Clinical Labs team places the RNA in a special machine that converts it into DNA. They create several copies of the DNA, then expose it to chemicals called primers and probes.
If the virus is in fact SARS-CoV-2, it will bind to certain probe chemicals and emit a light that the machine can detect. If the machine detects this light, your test is positive.
Pacific Clinical Labs offers COVID-19 testing seven days a week, including evening appointments. The practice can also come to you and perform at-home testing.
Regardless of when or where you choose to book your test, the team guarantees fast and accurate results. Typically, you’ll know whether or not you’ve tested positive within 6-12 hours. To get started, reach out online or over the phone today.
