A man who lost his sense of taste and smell after contracting Covid-19 has set up a support group for others suffering the same long-term effects.
Declan Cassidy contracted the virus after travelling to Berlin to see his girlfriend last March.
When he recovered from the illness he discovered he had no sense of smell while using bleach one day to clean the bathroom.
Eight months later he still cannot smell or taste anything apart from chilies, and he now adds jalapenos or chili powder to all of his food to experience some sense of taste.
"I turned to comfort food but that was like a slap in the face," he said. "Lasagne tasted like warm mush."
The 53-year-old said he looks at food differently now and relies on texture and colour to try and get some enjoyment.
He said he can differentiate between tea and coffee by their texture.
"One of the great difficulties is the sense of loneliness around this because there are people dying, people with terrible breathing difficulties so saying you aren't able to taste sounds like something you shouldn't be complaining too much about but it really really gets you down".
The Meath man said that "it's a mental health issue apart from a food issue".
He added that there is also a safety issue, saying: "I don't know how many times I've nearly burnt this house down by leaving food burning on the stove".
He said "it's only when I start coughing from the smoke that I realise it's burning".
Mr Cassidy has discovered he is not alone, and has set up a support group called Tasteless Cuisine for others suffering the same effects as he is.
Since its establishment on Facebook last weeks its membership has continued to grow with members describing various levels of loss of senses.
However, over the past few weeks Mr Cassidy has started smelling a bad petroleum-like odour so he is hopeful that his senses will return.
