Smell

 About the blog

   Apparently I had COVID a few days ago for about 45 minutes.

   How did I self diagnose that?  It's simple.

   I lost my sense of smell on the way to lunch, it stayed lost during the meal, and didn't return until I'd been dropped off afterwards.

   If you know the possible symptoms from COVID then it makes perfect sense.  Just follow the logic:

1. New loss of smell is a symptom attributed to COVID.
2. For about 45 minutes I noticed things like food had lost their usual scents and aromas.
3. I must have had COVID for 45 minutes.

   Yes, that logic is more than a little backwards.

   Yes, there are other possible causes for that and other COVID "symptoms" like these:

• New loss of smell
• New loss of taste
• "Fuzzy brain" - a generic term for losing one's train of thought, sudden difficulty recalling memories, or loss of focus.
• Respiratory problems like pneumonia.
• Sudden paranoia or fear with no discernable cause.

   That's an abbreviated list, but the point is to show where COVID's symptoms overlap with direct exposure to... something else.  There's a small problem trying to show that though.  There's 2 potential "something else(s)" for consideration:

1. Ultrasound - also known as:
• High frequency sound
2. Electrical current - also known as:
• Oscillating current
• Alternating current
• or just current

   How did ultrasound become a suspect in this?  I'd like to say it's also simple. 

   Two other unusual things noticed during the same lunch lead to ultrasound being detected and recorded using an ultrasonic receiver.  If this seems complicated and difficult to follow...  we both have the same opinion about it.

   Why would anyone have an ultrasonic receiver with them and decide to check for ultrasound all because they lost their sense of smell?  Normally no one would.  End of story.  There's an Occam's razor kind of situation in this somewhere and ultrasound isn't the simple or reasonable choice.

   The reason this wasn't normal and the story didn't end is because the restaurant had something in common with a few residences in St. Louis:

• There was a sensation of heat from some light fixtures which matched that from light fixtures at 2 St. Louis residences.
• It was unusual because they were ceiling lights, only 60 watts, and 6 or 7 feet away.
• Looking directly at the bulbs in the fixtures caused involuntary wincing.
• It was unusual because the time was around noon, it was sunny, and our seating was outside.

   Here's some examples of what the ultrasonic receiver picked up.

   So does the internet have any information on ultrasound that shows an overlap with COVID symptoms?  I'm not sure how to describe this but the internet seems hesitant on choosing a side (good or bad) in regards to ultrasound.

   Here's some examples from the first page of Google search results:

• Peter Russell, "Ultrasound Everywhere: Any Cause for Concern?" WebMD, January 20, 2016
• Summary: People have complained of nausea, dizziness, migraine, headaches, tinnitus and fatigue for 40 years and maybe it should be looked into.  Amazingly helpful.

• Dominic Smith and agency, "Ultrasound exposure could be making people ill, study finds" The Guardian, Tue 19 Jan 2016 19.01 EST
• Summary: People have complained of nausea, dizziness, migraine, fatigue and tinnitus in public places around England.  Researchers have confirmed ultrasound with 20 KHz or greater frequencies present in some of those places.  Super helpful.

• Fletcher MD, Lloyd Jones S, White PR, Dolder CN, Leighton TG, Lineton B. "Effects of very high-frequency sound and ultrasound on humans. Part I: Adverse symptoms after exposure to audible very-high frequency sound". J Acoust Soc Am. 2018 Oct;144(4):2511. doi: 10.1121/1.5063819. PMID: 30404512.
• Summary: We sorta tried to test how ultrasound affects people but we didn't find anything.  Extremely helpful.

• Hariharan Shankar, Paul S. Pagel, David S. Warner; "Potential Adverse Ultrasound-related Biological Effects: A Critical Review". Anesthesiology 2011; 115:1109–1124 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0b013e31822fd1f1
• Summary: Ultrasound of certain frequencies and intensities can be really, really bad.
• Cellular effects are bad:
• Inactivation of enzymes
• Free radical production
• Neural effects are bad:
• Temperature increases during exposure (which makes it sound similar to the microwave auditory effect).
• Suppression of neural transmission (but it's somehow reversible)
• Ocular effects are bad:
• Can damage ocular structures but depends on duration of exposure intensity
• Can cause cataracts, corneal clouding, lens opacities (less light able to pass through)

   I was starting to think ultrasound was imaginary until I clicked on the last article above.

   Now I'm wondering why any amount can be considered safe but more importantly: why is it present in restaurants and homes being emitted from light fixtures?

   It may have something to do with electrical current ("leakage").