Sense of Smell

Jules

Jules

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How is your sense of smell? I didn’t think mine was great, but now I’m wondering how bad it is. When I was standing at the mailbox talking to a neighbour she commented that the smell of MJ (it’s legal) was making her ill. I had to turn to where she was looking and even then couldn’t smell a thing. They weren’t too far away.

It‘s said if you can’t smell then you can’t taste food. Maybe this is why I’ve often commented that many foods seem bland now.
 
People with one of their senses damaged can have other senses heightened. In my case I am hearing impaired. I can smell smokers several cars away when I am driving and going through the Timmys drive through with anyone smoking is annoying. I especially love the smell of woodsmoke any time of the year...ditto for mj!
 
My allergies tend to interfere with my sense of smell when they are active. Living in a rural area, one also tends to become habituated to what we laughingly call “fresh country air,” i.e., manure. Sensitivity or insensitivity to odors can be conditioned by exposure. In the 1970’s lots of people smoked at my workplace, even at their desks, and I was used to the smell. With living in smoke-free environments for years now, cigarette smoke stands out quite distinctively, and bothers me…. 🚬
 
Hi, Jules. 🙂

It's true that aging has to do with loss of smell and taste. It could be that or something else. Whatever the cause, it's distressing. Do you mind me asking if you've considered getting your nose checked out? Do you have a runny nose or congestion? Have you had any surgery/anesthesia lately?

I had an upsetting experience when I had a nasal polyp removed several years ago. I lost my sense of taste/smell for a few months. I was freaked out so I did some research and found some very interesting information. I went to the hospital and requested a copy of the surgical report so I could see what anesthetics were administered to me. I received both lidocaine and propofol. It could've been either or both that caused the loss. What I've gathered, from the articles below, show a variety of other anesthetics that can cause the same problem. It happens to a small percentage of patients. Lucky me, I was in that group. When I told my ENT (Ear Nose and Throat Doctor) about losing my sense of taste/smell, he said he'd never heard of that happening before. I told him he heard of it now and that I found documentation of it. I recovered my sense of taste and smell, thank God, but for some people the loss can be permanent.

National Institute On Aging - How Smell And Taste Change As You Age >> https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/smell-and-taste

This article states that propofol was the culprit and that even most anesthesiologists are unaware of the effects. General Anesthesia Can Cause Taste And Smell Dysfunction >> https://www.tasteandsmell.com/dec2011.htm

This is quoted from the below article - "Salvinelli et al. reported the case of permanent olfactory dysfunction after endonasal local anesthesia with lidocaine 4% due to contact of the anesthetic with the olfactory epithelium [9]. Welge-Lussen et al. demonstrated a temporary reduction in olfactory function by psychometric testing (an increase in the olfactory threshold and a decrease of discrimination ability) caused by local anesthesia applied in the middle nasal meatus [4]. When local anesthetic (4% lidocaine) was applied directly to the olfactory cleft by means of a dropper, the side effects of headaches and transient local inflammation were observed."

I had local anesthesia but as you'll read in this article, loss of taste and smell has happened to patients who have undergone general anesthesia. Altered Taste and Smell after Anesthesia: Cause and Effect? >> https://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiolo...red-Taste-and-Smell-after-AnesthesiaCause-and

Anosmia after general anesthesia a case report >> https://associationofanaesthetists-...com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2044.2009.06071.x

Post Operative Alterations In Taste And Smell >> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4286802/

This is THE place to go for help for serious taste/smell problems. >> https://monell.org/

All of this blew my mind. I wanted to share this information because it might help someone else. I think this happens to other people who have no clue as to what caused their loss of taste/smell. Doctors/anesthesiologists don't seem to have much of a handle on it. So how the heck are we supposed to know?

Ruby ✌️
 
Thanks @Ruby. That’s a lot of info. There certainly are lots of possibilities. The eye surgeries I had three years ago were all local with a light sedative. Possibly the eye drops I have to use may be part of the issue. I hadn’t thought of this. Whatever the reason, I can still taste food, just that it seems bland now.
 
I used to be able to pick up distinctive odors. I could smell someone's roses bushes and certain flower's scents were intoxicating. Then I got a virus one winter, it messed up the nerve in my face. Some flowers like sweet pea and gladiolus smell like pee now. I can still smell, but yeck, many odors I used to love stink...bad.
 
Judycat said:
I used to be able to pick up distinctive odors. I could smell someone's roses bushes and certain flower's scents were intoxicating. Then I got a virus one winter, it messed up the nerve in my face. Some flowers like sweet pea and gladiolus smell like pee now. I can still smell, but yeck, many odors I used to love stink...bad.
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Did you have Bell's Palsey ? It is a condition were one or two of the facial nerves become irritated and the muscles on one side of your face are semi frozen. I had that and it left me with a left sided facial muscle problem that resulted in a crooked smile and a drooping left eye lid. It also affected my sense of smell. That was 9 years ago and my sense of smell is still affected greatly. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Did you have Bell's Palsey ? It is a condition were one or two of the facial nerves become irritated and the muscles on one side of your face are semi frozen. I had that and it left me with a left sided facial muscle problem that resulted in a crooked smile and a drooping left eye lid. It also affected my sense of smell. That was 9 years ago and my sense of smell is still affected greatly. JimB.
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Not quite. I just woke up one day with a lot of pain on the right side of my face. It felt like someone put a match out inside my nose and any movement of my right eye caused lightning-like stabbing. Went to the doc who referred me to a neurologist who confirmed I have trigeminal neuralgia. Awful condition. But with meds I have it under control. This began on Feb 22, 1988. Sorry for your sense of smell still being affected by Bell's Palsy. Anything involving facial nerves is bad.
 
Judycat said:
Not quite. I just woke up one day with a lot of pain on the right side of my face. It felt like someone put a match out inside my nose and any movement of my right eye caused lightning-like stabbing. Went to the doc who referred me to a neurologist who confirmed I have trigeminal neuralgia. Awful condition. But with meds I have it under control. This began on Feb 22, 1988. Sorry for your sense of smell still being affected by Bell's Palsy. Anything involving facial nerves is bad.
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When I woke up one morning the left side of my face wasn't functioning properly. I thought I had suffered a stroke, so off I went to my hospital, where they treated me with a stroke medication and a head CT scan. Diagnosis was Bell's not a CVA. My sense of smell is marginally better, but still not back to previous ability. I can see the flowers, I just can't smell them. I can smell strong odors, like my morning coffee, but not my shave soap. My Mum also had an episode with Bell's, and it does have a family type connection according to the medical websites I have read. Jimb.
 
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