Unusual smells

To whom,

  Over the last several weeks I have been smelling unusual odors, specifically cigarette smoke as if I had spent some time in a room with heavy smoke and it was all over my clothes and in my hair, and automotive fumes, i.e., diesel fumes and exhaust.  At first I only smelled these occasionally and mostly at night, however of late I smell them all the time, i.e., at work, in my car driving to and from work, at home watching TV, and of course when I go to bed, which at times has been so bad it has woken me up.  I do not smoke, I am not closely associated with anyone who does, nor am I around smokers other than the occasional encounter while walking from one place to the other and that is only for a brief couple of seconds.  It's like I suddenly have a very keen sense of smell and I pick up on the really obnoxious odors around me.

  This is really weird, and quite annoying, hopefully you can enlighten me as to what might be happening here.

Thank You,
Dave

[National Jewish]

It is hard to understand exactly what is going on.  It is possible that from an upper respiratory infection or other cause that the lining of your nasal passage has become inflamed therefore more sensitive to odors.  Why you would smell things that are not and have not been present is even more difficult to explain.  Sometimes people will describe an exposure to an odor.  They report smelling the odor after leaving the exposure for an area where the agent is not present.  This sensation is usually lost in a relatively short period of time and not to the duration you are describing.

If this is persisting and bothering you, I would suggest seeing an ENT specialist who may be able to offer new insight after examining the lining of your nose.

[fungicord]

You may want to consider that the mucus in your nose dissolves many types of fumes and traps them in your nose.  You mentioned gasoline fumes.  If you fill your car and inhale a decent amount of fumes during the process, the mucus in your nose with dissolve some of the gasoline fumes.  Later, when you disturb the mucus by blowing your nose or especially when you rub your nose, some of the particles will be released.

I have personally experienced this many times.  Some examples include: after being in an environment with paint fumes, after eating peanut butter, after being around someone who was smoking a cigarette.  It's really amazing how long the dissolved fumes or particles will persist in your nose, too.  I have smelled things strongly 8 hours after exposure.  In your situation, try to pay attention to whether this happens at the same time that you disturb your nose (rubbing, itching, blowing your nose, sniffling, sneezing, etc.)  If so, I doubt that the smells are cause for concern.

[tamstir]

A related discussion, Unusual smells when they are not present was started.