smell from my nose

hello doc i am a 23 male, smoke socially and my tongue always turns white during the day and im told i have bad breath, i never really cared about that though cuz i still get girls.Although with in the last 3 months i have been laid off from my job laying around the house and im starting to alwyas think that i smell. I went to my doctor and i told him how im having theses thoughts that are effecting my social life and he said sumtimes when ur confined to ur house or an area all the time you begin to focus on things that you normally wouldnt and convince urself that they might be real. I myslef personally asked my sister and my mother and my father and a few frineds and they all denie that i smell other than my breath every now and then. I have a drip down the back of my throat all the time and my mouth tastse like posion. When i sneeze 90% of the time i do have a smell that i can sense coming from my nose that ive never experienced before. it will last for a minute then it will go away. I can smell food and other stuff easily. But im just afraid that people can smell this odor when im out drinking with friends,or its bad and nobody is telling me. I get paranoid when i am in public all the time these days. People still call me and say lets go out but sumtimes i chicken out. I have been diagnosed with anxiety and ocd, within the last three years.I dont know if i am going nuts or if theres really an issue with me smelling  cuz ive never ever had theses worries before in my life tell now.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

There can be several issues that can be affecting the sense of smell.  The first would be chronic sinusitis, which can also contribute to the bad breath.

Another consideration would be a lesion within the brain, such as a pituitary mass, which can affect the smell or taste.  This is a rare condition, and can be considered if the initial workup is non-revealing.

Brain imaging, either with a CT scan or MRI can be considered.  If sinusitis is the culprit, antibiotics may be needed.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin Pho, M.D.

KevinMD.com
Twitter.com/KevinMD
Facebook.com/KevinMDblog

[Jaquta]

I don't know, and I expect the doctor would have mentioned it if he thought it were important, but have you seen a dentist recently.

I think the ocd is making things worse but it sounds like there may also be another problem.

Good luck with everything.