Experiencing a strange smell

[ademska]

For the past few days I've been very dizzy, so a clinic doctor prescribed meclazine for an inner ear thing (she didn't say infection).

The dizziness is not getting any better, and now I've begun to experience a horrible smell so strong it's debilitating.  It's deep in my nasal passage, I think.  I'm not congested at all.

[ademska]

Thank you for all the information.  I actually have chronic sinusitis and a deformed sphenoid sinus, but I have never had it manifest without any congestion at all, so that kind of threw me.  I feel a bit better today, so we'll see if it necessitates a doctor's visit.  Unfortunately my copay is too high to visit willy-nilly.

Thanks, insurance.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Both of your symptoms are linked.Your symptoms are suggestive of sinusitis. Chronically inflamed sinuses produce large amounts of mucus. It drips down on the back of the throat, thus covering both the back areas of the tongue and throat.Such a condition is known as post nasal drip and it is the direct cause of bad breath because this mucus contains proteins and anaerobic bacteria.

Sinusitis is also responsible for your headaches and dizziness. The sinuses are air-filled spaces lined with mucous membranes surrounding the forehead, cheeks and eyes. Healthy sinuses allow mucus to drain and air to circulate throughout the nasal passages. When sinuses become inflamed, these areas get blocked and mucus cannot drain.This leads to headaches and dizziness.

Diagnosis can be made by examination, transillumination, xrays, a CT scan, or an MRI. The best way to avoid or get rid of a sinus headache is to treat the underlying sinus inflammation and, if present, clear any infection by using antibiotics. Treating the inflammation involves anything from using a humidifier to taking medicines to surgically drain of the mucous in the sinuses. You need to consult an ENT specialist for that.

The other possibilities are streptococcal infection of the throat,nasal polyps and infections of the oral cavity.Pls discuss these options also with your doctor.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing.