I lost my sense of smell four years ago. The doctors told me that it is natural and that it is not a sickness

case 0033

Periodically I have what I refer to as a smell memory issue where I have a recurring odor/smell for days, and sometime weeks. Often it is the same smell but mostly not so. I scrub daily and change clothes daily and change soap and shampoos. I have found that I would not want to go out or socialize for fear of others smelling what I smell but have never found friend or relative who admits to smelling the odor that I perceive. I am generally healthy and never smoked.

case 0034

Within the last two weeks I smell a strong smell that no one else smells. The only way that I can describe it is that it smells like a strong flowery, earthy smell, almost sickeningly sweet. When I am really busy doing something I don't notice the smell but when I am working alone or don't have any other distraction I smell this same smell. It is now giving me a dull headache. I have never experienced this type of thing before and am worried that there is some type of underlying illness.

case 0035

After a traffic accident I was in the hospital and visitors mentioned something smelling bad but I didn't notice and thought it was because I was in a lot of pain. When I started eating and drinking, it was horrible, not what it was supposed to taste like. I first thought it was because I was on a lot of medications and maybe they were affecting my taste. When I was home a week later someone was cutting onions and I realized that I couldn't smell anything. I only realized this because my eyes were burning although I couldn't smell anything. It all made sense but it is sad that doctors don't think about your sense smell or see if you've lost it while in the hospital. It was only when I was in for a follow-up exam that we confirmed I had indeed lost my sense of smell. A month after the accident I started having horrible phantom smells. They were so awful that I couldn't eat and was feeling horribly nauseous most of the day; commuting by subway was especially difficult for some reason. In a few months I had lost 30 lbs. because I wasn't eating. Since the horrible phantom smells have for the most part passed I regained the weight because I'm eating again but still have the phantom smells; some days they are pleasant and some days awful. You can't move or run away from them; it's a constant and that has been frustrating. From my experience the medical community doesn't take the loss of one's sense of smell seriously. I know I am lucky and am grateful that I am alive but it is distressing to not smell a baby, my favorite perfume, the man in my life, and enjoying eating out at restaurants with friends.

case 0036

I lost my smell completely during the worst virus of my life. I had nothing for about two weeks except that many things smelled and tasted like ammonia for the first week, then nothing. Gradually I began to get whiffs of certain things. One evening I had cooked salmon which I could not taste and then when I went back into the kitchen later I distinctly smelled salmon. Smell came back very gradually over several months, I think it was still coming back some a few weeks ago and I would say it was 70 - 80% returned. I still occasionally had an ammonia-like smell, especially when I ate certain foods like peanut butter. Also, I could tolerate rancid foods much less. For example, previously I could eat some old potato chips without it bothering me, but since I lost my sense of smell they taste really rotten. Interestingly, noxious smells in some ways became worse, I can't understand that. I could taste Pepsi but not Coke. Eventually I could taste most things, at least for a little while. It was extremely depressing to have no sense of smell at all. You realize that rooms have smells, water has a taste, etc. I am grateful that it has returned as much as it has.

case 0037

I had a persistent head cold for two weeks and used a nasal wash to irrigate my sinuses. Since then I have not been able to smell anything. I cannot even smell ammonia. I used to have a very good sense of smell and could smell a package of bubble gum being opened in the next room. Now I can't smell an onion under my nose...

case 0038

I caught a cold which developed into a chest infection. Over six months I was constantly coughing, sneezing and had a runny nose. Over this time I lost my sense of smell (and taste). A couple of years after the onset of the problem I eventually went to a doctor. I was diagnosed with a chest infection, asthma and a nasal infection and given prednisone tablets for the asthma. I noticed that when the asthma was really bad and I had to take the prednisone my sense of smell returned (as long as my nose wasn’t too bad at the time). After a few days from stopping the tablets my sense of smell would gradually fade. Because of the side effects I am reluctant to take them for more than the recommended three days. In fact, during a trip to the US, I went to a doctor to get a refill on my prescription and he was horrified at the dosage I was taking (25 mg over three days). Because of the loss of smell and consequent loss of taste, my diet consists mainly of highly spiced foods – Indian, North African and Thai. Not that that is a problem, I have always liked those cuisines.

case 0039

I was exposed to chemicals 65 years ago at age 17. Since then the smell of detergent, perfumes, and other chemicals bothers me. In my current home I experience a terrible smell and I cannot seem to figure out where it originates. I have cleaned everything in the house, but the odor did not go away. The odor gives me a headache and I feel dizziness. I went to the emergency room and all they said was to use an antihistamine. The smell is acrid and really gets to me so much that I have pity parties by myself and cry.

case 0040

I have parosmia. It began about a year and a half ago. The first thing I noticed that didn't smell right was my body. Several days later I noticed that the strawberries we had didn't taste right and I thought there was something wrong with them, but my partner said they tasted normal to him. Within a few days, nearly all cosmetics, bath products, and household cleaners took on the same unpleasant odor - the smell was sort of a mixture of rotten oranges and Lysol. Each day there seemed to be another group of things that didn't smell the way they should. At the end of three months, there were four distinct distortions that encompassed nearly every odor and every flavor. Life became very unpleasant. I couldn't distinguish newly mown grass from gasoline or dish detergent. Because the perception of flavor is so heavily dependent on our sense of smell, parosmia has raised havoc with my diet. Nearly all food smells and tastes unpleasant. I eat no meat, no seafood, no poultry, no fruits (except lemons and some red grapes) and no vegetables except lettuce and mushrooms. I drink no soda, alcoholic beverages, or fruit juices. Not being able to enjoy foods is the most difficult aspect of this disorder for me because eating is one of the greatest pleasures we have in life. I've been to a specialized smell clinic and have been thoroughly tested, but there really hasn't been anything anyone can do for me. I have been lucky enough to find the Yahoo parosmia group, where I've found tremendous support. Parosmia has changed who I am. There is a level of despair that never leaves me. In the last few weeks, however, I've begun to see some glimmers of improvement, so I'm hopeful that I may not be like this forever.