How do I know if I have viral anosmia?
You don’t for sure because the diagnosis is one of absence. If no other cause can be found it is likely to be caused by a virus. In many cases the rapid, immediate onset of anosmia can be traced to an incidence of URI (a cold, influenza, or sinus infection). This is usually enough to convince a physician that the URI was the cause, but by the time a patient visits a doctor, the virus itself has often gone. Concurrent URI and anosmia usually indicates viral-induced anosmia, but care must be taken to rule out other causes.
