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Constant smoke smell in nasal passages.

I am a non-smoker. We are a non-smoking family. I am not around smokers at all. Why do I have the constant smell of smoke in my nose. It used to be just an occasional thing, but lately it seems to be all the time. I am concerned that this is a symptom of something I don't know about. The smell is strong. I used to notice it about a half hour after taking my Allegra-D 12 hr. tablets, but now I smell it much more often. Am I going crazy or is there something to this I'm not aware of. Has anyone else experienced this? Please help?
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Avatar universal
Try taking the herb, (griffonia simplicifonia seed extract), 5-HTP (hydroxytryptophan). A group of neurosurgeons did a study on that herb and said it helped build up the serotonin neurotransmitter levels, (better brain function), in our bodies. They said that when we begin to have lower levels, it is because we are fighting too many toxins in our environment, (fires, smoke, pollens, molds, bad air quality), and 5-HTP helps to rebuild our natural serotonin stores because our bodies can't do it alone. We either have to eat tons of food with tryptophan, like turkey and milk, some nuts and veggies, and/ or supplement with 5-HTP. Tty to buy from American makers. Not too expensive now. Trader Joe's, Walmart, Target, online stores have it. 100 mg. helped me a lot-takes about one month to start building up. Other allergy symptoms go away. Eat with it all the time REMEMBER it can give you what feels like upset stomach, but it is really bad gasses it is balancing out. Burp a lot if you ever get this effect and it feels better immediately. Worth it. I lived in a place thst had 750,000 acres of tree fires in a short few years, then a jerk neighbor blew up a drug glass of something and started a 16 unit apartment above my apartment! I take 5-HTP whenever I feel like I am overwhelmed with allergic reactions to the air/anything...it helps all the time. You will know when to stop taking it, you will feel stronger and more clear-headed. You may even stop stubbing your toes and bumping into things! Sounds funny, but it's true. You will focus better.
Helpful - 1
1415174 tn?1453243103
Could be neurological? Maybe see both An ENT and a neurologist. The other thing is Covid19 can cause loss of sense of smell. Have you had Covid19?
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Avatar universal
I live alone and hate smoke. I have severe allergies, asthma, apnea. I've had smoke stuck in my nose for 2 weeks, been on bystolic for a couple months. A day ago I also have a sulphury smell and thought it might be selson blue (I use 1-2 times a week but I havent used it in 4 days) remnants on a hair tie.  Also, I tried 2 other BP meds recently and they all cause petechiae everyone is clueless about.
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Avatar universal
I have a smoke sensation in my nose a few times a year.  It seems to last as long as a cold would except there are no cold symptoms.  It starts barely noticeable then gets stronger.  After about 12 days it starts to fade away until its gone.  This started about 8 years ago.  I have no idea what it is.
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Avatar universal
Hi, im having problems with my nose,my car had service done a bmw for water damage and when we took it for a test drive the a.c. made a click nose and this bad smell came out it went threw my nose and I've been having problems with my nose since what can i do?
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Avatar universal
I go have this cigarette smell. Mine seemed to start after I had dental work done. Maybe it's a coincidence but I don't know. It's been 18 days and my jaw is still a bit sore when I open my mouth wide. I also had a bruise on the outside of my jaw on the area being worked on. She removed a crown with much difficulty to remove decay under it. I felt a crack when she was attempting to remove it. She also repaired a broken filling to the tooth next to it. She misunderstood and gave me extra Novocain. I also started a new blood pressure medication a couple weeks before (verapamil)
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Avatar universal
So many things can cause it I read it typically not the brain but could be. I also read on a site written by a Dr that sometimes it's a symptom not quite understood. I also read on that site herpes 1 and 2 can cause phantom smells I'll try to find the link. I'm no Dr I just research online but professional sources. Also it said be sure to go to not only an ENT but one with experience in this situation
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Avatar universal
I have this burning cigarette smelll the last couple of days while my nose is stuffy from the flu.I was a smoker but quit 10 years ago and never had this sensation unless of course I am next to a smoker smoking. I smelled this at home and office so it is nothing coming from exterior, it's internal. I am wondering if a med is causing this. I am taking antiviral TAMI-flu and also Mucinex DM for relieve from the flu symptoms. Was anybody else taking the same meds while having the burning cigarette sensation?
Same here, glad to see that I am not going crazy with this.
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17924508 tn?1461452150
I smell it before a seizure. I have had epilepsy for years and live with this and another horrid smell. The cigarette smell is the worst. I would not claim everyone who smells it has epilepsy, but it is comforting to know it is not just me. I see know ghost or think its paranormal. I know it is not allergies or sinus. It is not because I do not brush good or any other health reason. I'm simply an epileptic. However, it was nice to read the boards.
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1 Comments
I have epilepsy too. And this is one of the smells I have before a seizure. Sometimes I smell it even if I'm not having or going to have a seizure. Which ***** because I tend to get a little panicked when I smell it because of smelling it many times before having a seizure; so I never know if the smell is a precursor to a seizure or not. I guess what this is called is Olfactory hallucinations or Phantosmia which could be an abnormal electrical discharge or “firing” in the brain; a seizure. These are just seizures we are not used to recognizing because they don't change our physical behavior or motor skills, it's very subtle and doesn't seem to cause any harm. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one experiencing this as well. It's comforting knowing I'm not alone.
Avatar universal
I have had the smokey/exhausty/egg smell coming and going stuck in my nostrils for about a month. It is now driving me nuts.

I was convinced it was mould in my car AC. But none of my family members can smell it. And my car cabin filter is new and clean.

I am going to have the rest of the car AC system checked.

This point about the charcoal water filter is interesting. The smell is a charcoaly smell. And new cabin filters are often charcoal. I am thinking that my car probably got a new charcoal filter about 3 months ago. Now I am thinking could that be it? Can't find anyone else linking this to a charcoal cabin filter... I will keep looking... and try out a non-charcoal cabin filter...
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2 Comments
Try washing your nostrils with mixture of toothpaste and mouthwash. It should kill the germs harbouring there.
Horrible suggestion regarding toothpaste and mouthwash - DO NOT TRY THIS!!!
Avatar universal
I found my source of phantom smoke smell, and it's now gone.

I had a badly decaying tooth, which I think was producing bacteria, causing a sulphur like smell.  By the time this all went through sinuses it smelt more like smoke.  I'm guessing if someone smelt my breath, they would have smelt the sulphur.  I didn't even have the tooth removed yet, just thoroughly cleaned entire area.

I believe this is bacteria or some such.  Spend at least 30 min cleaning mouth with wash, picks, floss, electric tooth brush etc.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi,

I also have this sensation for about 3 days now.  Could this be related to dental work.  I had a deep cleaning done at dentist and they numbed my mouth, the area where they injected swelled up, and went away after 2 days.  Since then, I've been getting this smell.  It's exactly like a dirty oven turned on, or something burning.

I'll be checking back to this post frequently and will answer any questions that anyone has.  I'm trying to see if it's somehow related to my dental work or shots.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've been subjected to this for a while now and it's driving me crazy. I'm getting a referral to a Neuro doc to do some testing to see what's going on. As you can see buy the comments a lot of these people haven't experienced this not so pleasant problem!!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think you're on to something. I just recently experienced this smell of smoke. I thought it was my home, till I traveled and stayed in different hotel rooms and had the same problem in each place.

I've just recently stopped chemotherapy and I'm actively rebuilding my immune system. It was in the beginning of this detox process that I had the smell of smoke. It has mostly gone away, though there are intermittent occurrences every now and again, which I assume come from a toxin overload of some sort.

Interestingly my sinuses are also active during these times as well. I've never had problems with acid reflux, but I would suspect that too is related to toxins.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
As unlikely as it sounds, I had a sensitivity to the activated carbon (charcoal) in the water filter in our fridge that caused me to have a constant smoke smell, heartburn, stomach cramps and pain, acid reflux, and chronic loose stools. It isn't really intuitive because activated carbon filters have such long, wide usage for filtering water and activated charcoal is used to treat stomach problems.

Obviously, not everyone with these symptoms has a sensitivity to the charcoal in water filters, but it is definitely worth investigating any potential sources of exposure to activated carbon/charcoal through your water: fridge filter, pitcher style Brita filter, or even purchased bottled water that has been charcoal filtered. It's an easy thing to check. I wish I had thought to check it out years ago. Could have so easily saved myself time, money, and years of discomfort.

The carbon filtered water from our fridge was the only water I drank and I drank it all the time. My symptoms went on for 2+ years, starting when we got a new fridge with a built-in water filter and dispenser. I didn't connect the filter with my symptoms though. We always changed our filter as recommended.

I went back to drinking tap water after reading about fridge water filters potentially harboring bacteria and fungus. Within 12 hours of stopping drinking the water that had run through, and often sat for hours or even overnight in, the carbon filter, all of my symptoms were gone. And they've stayed gone for more than a week. It was like someone flipped an "off" switch.

In the last 2+ years I had a lot of different types of tests, took a variety of medications, and tried every form of antacid, ppi, etc on the market. None of them helped and, for the most part, it just got worse over time.

Drinking unfiltered tap water was the first and only thing that ever really worked. I would even call it a "cure" at this point. It is such a relief to have those problems stop. It was pretty debilitating and I had pretty much resigned myself to having some weird occult gastric cancer that would eventually be identified. As I said, this has been a massive relief.

I hope this helps someone else.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
For the second time in about a year, I have begun to smell smoke 24/7 everywhere I go.  I am not a smoker, am never around smokers, but I smell smoke in my house, all three of our vehicles, in stores, even in my ENT's office when I saw him to try and determine why I smell smoke.  He said he had never had a case like mine before and had no idea what to do; he gave me antibiotics for a couple of weeks and all that did was give me the worse yeast infection I've ever had.  I finally stopped smelling smoke but about 3-4 days ago, it started again, strong.  My husband, and grandson, cannot smell it.  It worries me because if my house should catch on fire, I'm not sure I could catch the smell since that is all I do smell.  I have a very sensitive smell and can smell anything/everything where my husband can't pick up any odors.  I don't know what to do.
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Avatar universal
Did anything help?
My ENT told me I may have this smell forever. He said a viral infection damaged my sinus nerves.
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Avatar universal
It's been over 2 months and I'd like to report no return of the phantom smoke smell. All I have done is stop using or ingesting butter to only a minimum amount. I generally stay away from cookies and never apply butter to bread or other foods.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i have had a "smoky" smell in my nose since October 2010.  I have had a brain scan and a ct scan.  no allergies that i am aware of.  i don't drink caffeine.  i do eat chocolate.  it is driving me absolutely insane.  i have to pack my nose with vicks at night just to sleep.  it happens everywhere, anytime and comes an goes... sometimes lasting for weeks.  i am completely at a loss here.  when the smell is happening - it makes me almost sick to my stomach.  i'm forever finding something to smell so that it takes the place of the odor.  the only trigger i can find is stress..... it seems that if i start to get stressed - the smell hits.. sometimes with a vengence.
i sure don't know - but wanted to let others know that i am yet another one!
i didn't tell anyone for the longest time because i felt like i was being weird.  but it finally got so bad - i had to go to the doctor.
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Avatar universal
I have had this new symptom for the last three weeks. I was at my wits end and decided finally to go to the doctor. He has prescribed nasal steroid drops. We are also getting blood drawn and having an xray.

I'm wondering if animal feces may be the culprit. A month ago, I was helping my room mate's family empty out a shed. It was home to a bunch of skunks so everything we threw away had skunk feces and etc. on it.

It's hard to pinpoint this since by the time I went to the doctor, my symptoms weren't as bad. I think the drops are helping as well. I notice that coffee can sometimes trigger the smoke smell. When it was bad and I was desperate, I took to slurping down strong salsa and siracha sauce, then listerine. That would kill it for a long while. I'd read that garlic and peppers had a antibiotic property so I figured fresh salsa could do the trick.<<<This is why I'm NOT a doctor!!! ;) Any way I will see what happens after my testing this week.
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Avatar universal
I stopped eating butter. It stopped the smoke smell.
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Avatar universal
Does he drink strong coffee? Caffeine in larger doses can cause this, I've learned from experience.
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Avatar universal
Caffeine. Too much caffeine, especially in pill form causes that. It goes away and seems to be annoying, but harmless.
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Avatar universal
"Cigarette Smoke" is as good a description as needs be although I've come to think of it as *not* smoke but the sensation of there not being enough oxygen in a smoke-filled room/bar (remember that?)

I get the sensation at home from time to time and in my car when the air conditioner is on.  If I open the car windows, it goes away.

My next step is to get both home and car systems checked for leaks.

I did just install an IQAir filter in my bedroom ( $900! ) and find it's helped about 10-20%.

Helpful - 0
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