Phantom smell - Burning & Smoke

[Stez77]

Hello, For a while i have been smelling a burning smell in my nose, kind of like smoke. It's not constant, somedays it's there and some it's not, i don't know what it is, i searched around and couldn't really find much, any info would be great.

[Johnweir]

Check your cfl light bulbs they have a built in ballast and can cause this the light may may even be out but the ballast will still burn

[Giovani333]

I smell a weird smoke smell too. It's almost like something is burning, like a tire or some type of food. It happened off and on for a day but it drives me crazy. I just had a bicycle accident. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I also was sick a week ago, I still have phlegm and some mucus. I feel like it's harder to breathe but I don't know if I have a sinus infection or not (being that one of the causes). During my accident I also broke two teeth so I don't know if it has nothing to do with that either. Someone please help! I know I am not a hypochondriac.

[idontbelievethatnamehasbeentaken]

I have come to the conclusion that the bad odor that I am experiencing is attributable to GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)-- which is caused by acid reflux where food and acidic stomach juices are flowing back into the esophagus.  This condition worsens at night, because lying down facilitates the flow of stomach content into the esophagus and throat.  My bad odor started out smelling strongly like a dead rotting animal somewhere in my house and then morphed into a chemical burning smell.  After paying thousands of dollars (pest control, HVAC system and air ducts cleaned out, hot water tank and septic vents flushed and snaked, and goo-gobs of air fresheners; on top of doctors' visits, antibiotics, etc.), I finally realized that the odor was originating inside of me.  Now, I drink tons of water all day, take OTC heartburn medicine (Tagamet) and after each meal, I drink baking soda (1/2 teaspoon) in water (1/2 glass).  I think that if I could stop eating wheat that this would probably help as well. The smell has not gone completely away (comes back every time that I eat), but it has been significantly abated.  I also think that fasting one-two days per week will also help.

[jtee_]

It's called phantosmia people with chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis get it a lot. Use the sinus rinses!

[1nation]

Up close- ask a relative to smell your nose -
I used the Neti pot with a homemade rinse of sea salt and baking soda. I added a tiny pinch of tea tree oil to the entire batch of pre made salts. - rinsed my first rinse and I could immediately smell burning plastic or electrical cord - type smell - (very plastic/nylon burning) it took me a minute to realize it could just possibly be me. My husband even got up to come smell, and this odor was nearly "powerful enough to see fumes or smoke"
When he couldn't find the smell, it was dawning on me right then, so I asked him to smell my nose. I said "I just did that rinse and I can smell something so please just smell my nose and tell me if it smells wrong or bad." He did and immediately shrank back yelling OH MY GOODNESS THATS AWFUL. I said you can smell it?!?? Mostly relieved that I wasn't insane- he said yes. I asked what it smelled like and he said "something chemical-like".
So I don't know what it is... I even used natural products. I'm just glad Im not the only one now...you all can smell it too, and it must be scary- but try it out: next time you smell the smell super-strong, have someone smell your nose. The reassurance that it is "real" may bring lifetimes of reassuring peace until a cause is discovered.

[ForeverCurious]

For about the last two decades of my life (since age 38 or so) I've had the ability to smell odors about 30 seconds before anyone else, whether it's as nasty as a skunk, or as wonderful as freshly baked bread. My children and husband long ago determined that this is my super power (LOL) and we've had fun with it. However, sometime during the past decade, I've also begun to smell smoky odors that no one else ever smells. Occasionally I smell cigarette smoke and feel certain that a neighbor must be smoking right outside our home, but when I walk around the house outside, I can't find the source. What's most disconcerting is that I often smell a sulfuric odor, the smell of a recently lit match, and my nose senses this odor as if it's coming from my body; yet when I smell my hair, my clothes, my breath, or my skin, I don't detect any of this sulfuric odor. I ask others if I smell like sulfur to them, during times when I smell it very distinctly, and no one has yet to detect any such odor, either coming from me or in the air around me. These odors are not restricted to my own home or town; they occur regardless of my location or circumstances. I use a neti pot regularly for sinus issues, and I refill my 16 ounce water bottle (which goes everywhere I go) at least 3 to 4 times a day. I have several chronic pain issues that I have learned to live with, including pain from degenerative disc disease in my cervical spine that often causes headaches and migraines... Basically I'm writing about my experiences in this forum because it really has been helpful to know I'm not alone in the world. I think my next step will be to consult with a neurologist. Thanks for the all the information and insights each of you has shared... I'll return to write more if I learn any more on this subject... Blessings!

[Roeena]

Go see a neurologist. I've had this for years and found a forum with people having the same problem . if they are smells that for the most part you can't identify and there is no trend to when you get them, you could possibly be having brain seizures. I don't mean to alarm you but it took me 10 years to finally go see one and feel stupid saying " I get these smells". I have 10 different smells. Couldn't tell you what they smelled like. Weird.  It just wouldn't hurt to see a neurologist.

[mncedisi123]

Hi everyone My name is Thulane i have a smell in my body that i dont understand it started when I was 14 years and since then i have been living with this smell.It was difficult at school no one wanted to sit next to me because kids would say i smell like something is burning, cooking oil burning tire. i have been living with problem for years now and no one knows what was it and i never talk about to my mother because i was to embarrassed to talk about. i am 35 now and i have quit jobs after jobs because i cant keep the job because people say i stink and it hateful when you don't know what to do. i have started a treatment for months ago when i went to the doctor and break my silence because i just quit my job and the doctor says it was a bacteria that was in me and it was not treated for years. it is still there as though sometimes i feel loosing hope because it this bacteria makes my body feel hot and produces a stinky smell in my body. please help anyone there.

[jtee_]

Its your diet and probably your sinuses as well. First stop is an elimination diet. The best one is the royal Prince Alfred hospital failsafe diet in Australia. Go look up the failsafe diet at fedup.com.au its changed my life and many others.

[NMR_FSU]

You may try adding white vinegar to your bathing routine.  Vinegar is helpful with neutralizing many ordors.  Best of luck