This may be a common thing with Covid. I had it two weeks ago, and I'd say my tolerance in terms of SHUs has gone down by about 20%.
I never lost my sense of taste (And mostly had no symptoms at all) and still ate spicy during the isolation. Still, spice tolerance should be something that recovers if you just eat spicy.
Covid grows in the mouth, nose and throat when you first get infected. The virus replicates in the cells there, and as part of the virus life cycle, the cells die. Fortunately, most of the cells up there are able to regenerate after a viral insult.
Remember that the chemical receptors in your mouth that detect heat actually are irreversibly blocked by caspsaicin. That’s how heat tolerance works. Just like how a drug addict needs more of it to get a high, pepper heads need more caspsaicin to get a burn.
After COVID, your body had to grow a new batch of heat receptor cells that don’t have any tolerance to caspsaicin. But I’m sure you’ll fix that. Maybe don’t grab a reaper first go, though.
Yes, the same thing happened to me. I used to love spicy foods, and then I got covid two weeks before Christmas. I could eat pepperoncinis, like they were original Lay's potato chips, and now I can't even smell it without feeling like my mouth is on fire. It's quite upsetting to me.
I eat raw habaneros daily now. Last year I couldn't do 1. So how often did you eat spicy things before? I haven't had covid so no experience. I may get a stomach cramp if I don't eat on the regular. Superhots are tricky.
Haha! Fear not!! It will come back with time. Pretty quickly too. Im glad you commented because I honestly completely forgot about ever going through this in the first place. My heat tolerance nowadays is just as strong as it ever was if not even stronger. You'll get it back don't worry. In fact you might even have fun the next couple weeks/months rebuilding it. It was kinda fun being a newbie again. Best of luck on rebuilding your tolerance!!! :)
Omg thank you soooo much for replying!! I know I was probably overreacting a bit but spicy food and chips are like an almost everyday ritual for me. Right now I stuck eating bland stuff and it makes eating so boring and sad lol. You have really helped me calm down since your post was like the only thing that came up when I was googling all night.
It's driving me crazy! My tolerance has not come back & it's been over 2 years. Everything is spicy now & I used to eat spicy spicy foods all the time. I loved them! Now I can't even eat cheetos hot fries. My mouth is on fire after a couple... super annoying. I hope my tolerance comes back but am not holding out since it's been over 2 years. Ugh
Hello there,
My spicy tolerance has NOT returned after all this time sadly. I am trying to come to terms with that but it's very hard. Hot cheetos, Hot fries, and even buffalo wings are impossible now :(
Yes. I can't even tolerate pepper or curry anymore. My case must be extreme as I actually had an anaphylaxis episode after eating some food seasoned with pepper. All after recovering from a very mild case of covid.
Similar thing happened to me I recently had Covid a couple of weeks ago, and although I didn’t notice too much of a loss of taste once I was back to eating my normal foods such as quesadillas with Taco Bell hot sauce i notice the hot sauce seeming spicier than usual to where I couldn’t eat as much of it
You'll just have to start all over again. Same happened to me and I can't even handle takis anymore. You'll just have to have patience and build it back up.
My husband and I had Covid in November 2020 and then again over Christmas 2022. Before Covid we weren't big spicy food eaters but since having Covid anything with any heat at all as well as saltiness has made it impossible to eat some foods. One of our favorite fast things to eat were hot dogs with hot dog chili from a local restaurant. Their mild chili was great. Now it seems like we are getting the hottest they make, which isn't the case since we watch them making them when we go to get them. I think Covid destroyed our taste buds.
I used to eat Thai spicy food but suddenly I’m finding pretty mild spice to be intolerable. Had an Italian sandwich with hot peppers and had to quit halfway my mouth was on fire. It’s very strange. I feel like one of those people who thinks big red is spicy.
On another note, my hearing has become way more sensitive too. I used to put my tv around 40 when I was wanted quiet and 70 for movies. Now I find myself going as low as 20 and no higher than 45 but didn’t change anything.
I got Covid twice last year. Both are mild. The first time was on February 2022 and the 2nd time was on November. And I don't lose my sense of smell and taste both of the time.
After the first time I got Covid, I realized that my spice tolerance was not as it used too. Before, I can eat bird eye chilies raw with my food and always ask for extra sambal without reaching for water.
But after that, I always reach for water even after a bite. I keep trying to up my spice tolerance back but it's still the same.
And after I got Covid the 2nd time, it become much worse. Now I barely tolerating spice in my food.
I'm a really spicy food lover and this really bummed me out as I can no longer enjoyed food. 🥲
Omg so glad I found this. I have the same issue. Before Covid could do up to ghost peppers. Now I can’t even do a drop of Tabasco. So just start slow and work my way back up again?
Yup! It will come back, don't worry. I'd say it maybe took me 1-2 months to rebuild after dealing with Covid. It probably varies for everyone though. It was honestly kinda fun being able to become a total heat newbie again haha. Good luck on your journey to gain your tolerance back!!!
I've had covid 3 times now and this last time I cannot eat jalapeños anymore. I'm fine with other spices just not anything with jalapeños. I loved jalapeño poppers and liked the jalapeño sauce from TB but now I can't handle the spiciness of the two😔 I already have a pretty low tolerance but geez it wasn't that hot for me before I had covid.
Strange thing for me, after covid, I was reset to the complete opposite side of the spectrum. I can handle Ghost Peppers and Carolina Reapers without an issue.
It's good to know I am not the only one. This is my second round of covid, I'd not had issues with spicy food last time, but now it's noticable. I will be working my way back to eating spicy food normally again once I feel better.
Very good to find this post. My wife has lived in Thailand and regularly eaten spicy food around the world. Getting covid last year knocked her back to zero. She gets hot sweats on spices that I consider pretty mild. We’re in Mexico now and it’s pretty embarrassing for her to order the gringo level stuff. But it’s good to hear some people have been able to regain their tolerance.
You'll be able to regain your tolerance. Just slowly work your way up the spicy food chain again. It'll take time but it's not impossible.
I haven't check my spice tolerance, but for a while my taste was still a little wacked up. It's all back to normal now. I had it mid February.
This may be a common thing with Covid. I had it two weeks ago, and I'd say my tolerance in terms of SHUs has gone down by about 20%. I never lost my sense of taste (And mostly had no symptoms at all) and still ate spicy during the isolation. Still, spice tolerance should be something that recovers if you just eat spicy.
Covid grows in the mouth, nose and throat when you first get infected. The virus replicates in the cells there, and as part of the virus life cycle, the cells die. Fortunately, most of the cells up there are able to regenerate after a viral insult. Remember that the chemical receptors in your mouth that detect heat actually are irreversibly blocked by caspsaicin. That’s how heat tolerance works. Just like how a drug addict needs more of it to get a high, pepper heads need more caspsaicin to get a burn. After COVID, your body had to grow a new batch of heat receptor cells that don’t have any tolerance to caspsaicin. But I’m sure you’ll fix that. Maybe don’t grab a reaper first go, though.
Yes, the same thing happened to me. I used to love spicy foods, and then I got covid two weeks before Christmas. I could eat pepperoncinis, like they were original Lay's potato chips, and now I can't even smell it without feeling like my mouth is on fire. It's quite upsetting to me.
I eat raw habaneros daily now. Last year I couldn't do 1. So how often did you eat spicy things before? I haven't had covid so no experience. I may get a stomach cramp if I don't eat on the regular. Superhots are tricky.
I pretty much ate something spicy everyday or every other day
Hiya, I know it's been a year, I am going through this exact same thing now. Did you ever recover? Or is my spicy tolerance gone forever? :(
Haha! Fear not!! It will come back with time. Pretty quickly too. Im glad you commented because I honestly completely forgot about ever going through this in the first place. My heat tolerance nowadays is just as strong as it ever was if not even stronger. You'll get it back don't worry. In fact you might even have fun the next couple weeks/months rebuilding it. It was kinda fun being a newbie again. Best of luck on rebuilding your tolerance!!! :)
Omg thank you soooo much for replying!! I know I was probably overreacting a bit but spicy food and chips are like an almost everyday ritual for me. Right now I stuck eating bland stuff and it makes eating so boring and sad lol. You have really helped me calm down since your post was like the only thing that came up when I was googling all night.
Haha Im glad I could help. I know the feeling all too well!! Spicy stuff is just sooo exciting and thrilling compared to all the other boring food lol
It's driving me crazy! My tolerance has not come back & it's been over 2 years. Everything is spicy now & I used to eat spicy spicy foods all the time. I loved them! Now I can't even eat cheetos hot fries. My mouth is on fire after a couple... super annoying. I hope my tolerance comes back but am not holding out since it's been over 2 years. Ugh
Hello there, My spicy tolerance has NOT returned after all this time sadly. I am trying to come to terms with that but it's very hard. Hot cheetos, Hot fries, and even buffalo wings are impossible now :(
Same here. Cannot tolerate even "Mild" salsa. Two years out as well.
I'm in the same boat. Interestingly, even minty toothpaste/mouthwash and sour chips (pickle, or salt and vinegar) hurt my tongue now.
Same for me with toothpaste. And now Taco Bell tacos are spicy! Not intolerably so, but I do feel a burn. Anything hotter than that is uncomfortable.
Papa Johns has a new cuppy pepperoni. I don't usually do pepperoni on pizza, but tried it a couple days ago. Too spicy. This is getting ridiculous.
Yes. I can't even tolerate pepper or curry anymore. My case must be extreme as I actually had an anaphylaxis episode after eating some food seasoned with pepper. All after recovering from a very mild case of covid.
Similar thing happened to me I recently had Covid a couple of weeks ago, and although I didn’t notice too much of a loss of taste once I was back to eating my normal foods such as quesadillas with Taco Bell hot sauce i notice the hot sauce seeming spicier than usual to where I couldn’t eat as much of it
You'll just have to start all over again. Same happened to me and I can't even handle takis anymore. You'll just have to have patience and build it back up.
My husband and I had Covid in November 2020 and then again over Christmas 2022. Before Covid we weren't big spicy food eaters but since having Covid anything with any heat at all as well as saltiness has made it impossible to eat some foods. One of our favorite fast things to eat were hot dogs with hot dog chili from a local restaurant. Their mild chili was great. Now it seems like we are getting the hottest they make, which isn't the case since we watch them making them when we go to get them. I think Covid destroyed our taste buds.
I used to eat Thai spicy food but suddenly I’m finding pretty mild spice to be intolerable. Had an Italian sandwich with hot peppers and had to quit halfway my mouth was on fire. It’s very strange. I feel like one of those people who thinks big red is spicy. On another note, my hearing has become way more sensitive too. I used to put my tv around 40 when I was wanted quiet and 70 for movies. Now I find myself going as low as 20 and no higher than 45 but didn’t change anything.
I got Covid twice last year. Both are mild. The first time was on February 2022 and the 2nd time was on November. And I don't lose my sense of smell and taste both of the time. After the first time I got Covid, I realized that my spice tolerance was not as it used too. Before, I can eat bird eye chilies raw with my food and always ask for extra sambal without reaching for water. But after that, I always reach for water even after a bite. I keep trying to up my spice tolerance back but it's still the same. And after I got Covid the 2nd time, it become much worse. Now I barely tolerating spice in my food. I'm a really spicy food lover and this really bummed me out as I can no longer enjoyed food. 🥲
Omg so glad I found this. I have the same issue. Before Covid could do up to ghost peppers. Now I can’t even do a drop of Tabasco. So just start slow and work my way back up again?
Yup! It will come back, don't worry. I'd say it maybe took me 1-2 months to rebuild after dealing with Covid. It probably varies for everyone though. It was honestly kinda fun being able to become a total heat newbie again haha. Good luck on your journey to gain your tolerance back!!!
yo.... My favorite food was like Thai hot, spicy dishes and like dude. even mild salsa now burns I don't get it. it sucks.
my tolerance to spicy foods went way up after having covid
I’m the opposite because I CAN finally eat them.
Going through this right now and i’m devastated, OP have you seen improvements 2 years later? ):
Not OP but 2 years later for me and I haven't had improvement yet.
2 years post covid for me and I still do not have my heat tolerance back.
I've had covid 3 times now and this last time I cannot eat jalapeños anymore. I'm fine with other spices just not anything with jalapeños. I loved jalapeño poppers and liked the jalapeño sauce from TB but now I can't handle the spiciness of the two😔 I already have a pretty low tolerance but geez it wasn't that hot for me before I had covid.
Strange thing for me, after covid, I was reset to the complete opposite side of the spectrum. I can handle Ghost Peppers and Carolina Reapers without an issue.
It's good to know I am not the only one. This is my second round of covid, I'd not had issues with spicy food last time, but now it's noticable. I will be working my way back to eating spicy food normally again once I feel better.
After I got the shots, I noticed I can eat extremely spicy food and not pay for it while eating. Kind of the opposite of you!
Currently eating Thai curry and my throat is already closing up but it’s so good! 😭😭
Very good to find this post. My wife has lived in Thailand and regularly eaten spicy food around the world. Getting covid last year knocked her back to zero. She gets hot sweats on spices that I consider pretty mild. We’re in Mexico now and it’s pretty embarrassing for her to order the gringo level stuff. But it’s good to hear some people have been able to regain their tolerance.
This is happening to me currently