‘It tasted horrendous’: How a tourist lost the ability to eat TOMATO SAUCE after contracting COVID-19 during a trip to London
- Joshua Dent, 23, believes he contracted COVID-19 while in London on holiday
- After flying back to New Zealand Mr Dent came down with coronavirus
- Mr Dent lost his ability to eat tomato sauce as it tasted ‘metallic’ and disgusting
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A tourist has revealed how contracting coronavirus left him unable to eat tomato sauce without it leaving a foul metallic taste in his mouth.
Joshua Dent, 23, believed he caught the virus while travelling overseas to London to meet a friend in early March before making his way to Paris.
Upon returning to New Zealand on March 16 he began to drive home from Auckland Airport when he started to develop symptoms.
Joshua Dent said he contracted coronavirus while travelling overseas in London and Paris before he returned to New Zealand
‘It was about a four-hour drive to get home and two hours into the drive I started getting a runny nose and a sore throat.’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Dent said he started to become very tired and was overcome by the virus by the time he got home.
But the one symptom that surprised Mr Dent was when he suddenly lost his ability to eat tomato sauce.
‘I just remember tasting it and it was just this horrible metallic kind of taste. I tried another brand that we had and it was exactly the same thing,’ he said.
‘The (bad) taste stayed the entire time I had corona and then it was fine again after.’
Even more confusingly Mr Dent said all other foods tasted exactly the same, including tomatoes themselves.
Mr Dent said the symptom that surprised him was the inability to eat tomato sauce as it now tasted ‘disgusting’ and had a ‘metallic flavour’
Mr Dent is still in isolation but has since recovered from coronavirus and said the first thing he ate after his recovery was a sausage in bread with sauce.
Change in taste and smell, or the complete loss of it, has been raised by doctors and health experts as a common symptom of coronavirus.
The loss of the two sensors often develop within hours and could be one of the first detectable symptoms.
New data gathered by ENT UK, which represents ear, nose and throat specialists has even seen some UK doctors calling for the symptom to be added to official lists.
Mr Dent said he wanted to support others who had contracted the virus and left an open invitation for sufferers to contact him through his email: j.pomare@yahoo.com.
As cases of coronavirus continue to climb, new data has suggested a loss of taste and smell should be listed as a symptom of the virus