Sensing sociality : Food in the life of patients with persisting chemosensory dysfunctions after COVID-19

• As human beings, we move through life with our senses. Hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, and tasting are all central to how social life is organized. A disruption in one or several of these senses will therefore disrupt sociality. An example of such a disruption that has affected many people in the recent years is smell and taste alterations – chemosensory dysfunctions – caused by COVID-19.We have interviewed 30 patients (25 women and 5 men) from a clinic specialized in chemosensory dysfunctions that opened up during the pandemic. All participants developed their problems after having COVID-19, but the intensity and type of symptoms differed profoundly – from minor inconveniences with decreased sensory perceptions, to devastating disabilities from severe taste and smell distortions. Interviews were focused on the participants’ encounters with healthcare, the trajectory of their symptoms at the onset until the time of the interview, everyday (mainly food-related) practices, experiences, and strategies, as well as their thoughts about the future.This particular analysis focuses on social relations, especially concerning food and meals. Among other things, the participants spoke about the realization that “food is everywhere” in social interaction, the ways that social relations were managed when food was or could be involved (e.g. avoiding restaurants, not eating with colleagues, eating prior to a shared dinner out of worry that the food there would be inedible, eating despite not enjoying it, etc.), and relying on social support from people with awareness of their situation. The findings are discussed in relation to sociological questions about commensality and the everyday life of living with a chronic illness.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Kostvetenskap

Food, Nutrition and Dietetics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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