Aa
Certain Breathing through Nose causes bad taste and smell
I have an issue where if I breathe a certain way it messes up my taste and smell. It even happens when laughing a certain way or yelling, or sneezing, or just blowing my nose. And for me it seems that the left nostril is the culpret. I can 90% of the time fix it by bending over and putting my head between my legs and grab behind my heels or ankles and put pressure to my head/nose and it will fix it, but I am tired of dealing with it. I used to smoke and it made the ciggeretts unbearable to taste. And even foods and smells that usually taste good or smell good to you, taste and smell bad.
Any help or ideas on what this is will be greatly appreciated.
Any help or ideas on what this is will be greatly appreciated.
Hello all,
I too had been scouring the Internet for an answer to this problem that greatly affects my life every single day. I have a bad smell in my nose that also affects my taste. I have had it for about 4 years now. I saw many ENTs and had MRIs and CT scans. The bad smell is only in my left nostril. The conclusion for myself is that it is a neurological issue. If I invert my head, or put my head upside down, it puts pressure on my face/nose and it will make the smell go away for me. I usually lay on my bed face down and let my head hang down off the edge. I live with this affliction every day, but thankfully that trick has gotten me through. Blowing my nose will instantly trigger the smell for me. Laughing also is a trigger. I have found that cannabis also will take away the smell for me - I assume it calms the nerve(s) somehow. But I do not recommend that for a long-term solution. I hope my testimony helps anyone searching for relief. Look into neurological issues and you may find what you're looking for.
I too had been scouring the Internet for an answer to this problem that greatly affects my life every single day. I have a bad smell in my nose that also affects my taste. I have had it for about 4 years now. I saw many ENTs and had MRIs and CT scans. The bad smell is only in my left nostril. The conclusion for myself is that it is a neurological issue. If I invert my head, or put my head upside down, it puts pressure on my face/nose and it will make the smell go away for me. I usually lay on my bed face down and let my head hang down off the edge. I live with this affliction every day, but thankfully that trick has gotten me through. Blowing my nose will instantly trigger the smell for me. Laughing also is a trigger. I have found that cannabis also will take away the smell for me - I assume it calms the nerve(s) somehow. But I do not recommend that for a long-term solution. I hope my testimony helps anyone searching for relief. Look into neurological issues and you may find what you're looking for.
1 Comments
hi. i have a fungal infection in my head and it smells bad and my taste is gone. the fact that you have to turn your head to get relief, may i suggest you have the same thing? there is a very gross vid on youtube called "removal of a fungal ball". it is just an eye opener to see what fungus can do.
Hope some of you are still around. Had since about 13 years old, I am now 67. In my thirties It happened once with no trigger. As this was new "version" I went to Dr who sent me to ENT, who sent me to neurologist. It is a cyclic smell disorder and is actually a seizure disorder (don't be afraid!). I was so grateful to find this article! I almost cried when I found it. The first neuro was horrible and put me on Klonopin, bad choice. It helped with problem but really bad side effects. I had an MRI which showed abnormal brain activity and dx as seizure. He insisted it was a metallic taste and didn't last long. He was way off. Btw, he was fired from that hospital and couldn't practice in NH. I went to new, competent, neuro who put me on Topamax. I tired of side effects after a few years & switched to tegretol. Three weeks later I ended up in hospital due to rare liver side effect; so that was short lived. Back on Topamax, moved again and have a wonderful new neuro. I stayed on Topamax, then she combined it with Lamictal. I've been on Lamictal alone for years. No side effects and no breakthrough episodes. It works in a different way than others, and a good side effect is that it is a mood stabilizer.
I brought her this linked article, which intrigued her as she'd never heard of it before. Kind of cool when you can educate someone with a PhD! :)
It sound like many of you may have this, so I hope it helps!!
http://www.tasteandsmell.com/aug07.htm
I brought her this linked article, which intrigued her as she'd never heard of it before. Kind of cool when you can educate someone with a PhD! :)
It sound like many of you may have this, so I hope it helps!!
http://www.tasteandsmell.com/aug07.htm
1 Comments
Hello, I too have taste and smell issues very similar to you. Can I ask are you still having issues. I would like to connect with you.
Has anyone found a permanent cure? I’ve been using nasal rinses but that just temporarily relieves it... It’s getting so bad. I’m getting it at least 3-5 per week now.
I have the same thing. I've had it since 2009 around the time I graduated high school. It only comes out the right nostril and It occurs whenever I sneeze laugh scream etc. it used to go away whenever I fell asleep but recently it has gotten a lot worse and can sometimes last 3 days in a row. I can plug up my right nostril and that's a temporary fix but as soon as I let go it comes back immediately. I've tried the netti pot doesn't work, gone to two different ent specialists who looked at me like I was insane and found nothing wrong, I even called the taste and smell clinic in Washington, D.C. But they want $4,000 for two days of testing and they only take one insurance company which of course isn't what I have and they couldn't guarantee that my symptoms would go away!! Sorry but I'm not wasting that kind of money for what I call "the taste" not to go away. I'm so sick of not being able to enjoy going out with friends and doing fun things all because I have the taste! It's made me extremely depressed and I don't know what to do anymore.
Also within the last year I've gotten what I call "the other taste" and I have yet to find exactly what triggers this. I do know when there is any kind of steam from cooking or when I'm straightening my hair it's there, but it can also show up without reason. This one doesn't last as long as the taste but it still alters my taste and smell. It's even worse when they both happen simultaneously.
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!
Also within the last year I've gotten what I call "the other taste" and I have yet to find exactly what triggers this. I do know when there is any kind of steam from cooking or when I'm straightening my hair it's there, but it can also show up without reason. This one doesn't last as long as the taste but it still alters my taste and smell. It's even worse when they both happen simultaneously.
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!
Oh and another thing that triggers mine is cooking smells, anything frying in a pan sets it off immediately, using a straightening iron, using an iron, popcorn at the movies! I find anything with heat mixed with scent sets it off immediately. I can't walk into food courts, cafés, restaurants without it being set off anymore, so awful and so frustrating!! It even makes me angry now as it takes enjoyment away from things that should be pleasant. Even people's perfumes smell toxic so work and being around people with perfume is so horrible :( :(
I have the same thing. It first happened to me 18 years ago, infrequently and now is occurring almost daily. It will last all day unless I lay down on my right side. It affects my left nostril only. I went to an ear, nose and throat specialist and they didn't understand what I had - it's very difficult to describe to people! I am suffering so badly nimw and it's interfering with my life greatly. I'm so tired of it ruining special occasions, eating out etc etc. I need help within Australia, any suggestions??
Yea I have the same! We know how it's triggered and how it goes away (sleep or nap for me) but most doctors don't know what the hell we're talking about and make crap up saying it's nasal congestion/infection blah blah. Then there's a clinic in DC that knows what we're talking about but wants to use us as guinea pigs! I'm going to ask Dr. Oz!
Hi guys! I hope you are all still around.
I am so thankful to have found this web page. This terrible affliction started almost a year ago - around the time I graduated from college. When I came home last summer(May), the smell was non-stop. There is good information here and I will just jot down some notes about my personal experience with "it."
-It took me many months to realize what caused it...laughing and deep breaths in/out. Sometimes bending down or turning my head too fast will cause it as well.
-I cannot describe the smell. It is simply "annoying." It doesn't smell like anything I've ever smelled on this earth. I am 90% sure most people can smell it. I am too afraid to ask someone for that last 10% of certainty. My brother says he smells s*** whenever I smell "it." So, I know it must smells bad. It doesn't smell like feces to me but I cannot trust my own sense of smell when this is happening. I am unsure if people can smell it before I do or after I think its gone.
-The smell can fill a whole room very quickly. I can leave and walk back in and its there still. I make a trail of it wherever I go.
-I can trigger the smell at any moment I choose(I usually do not do this for the heck of it) just by blowing my nose or taking a deep breath in through my nose. It lingers for hours! I can smell it every single second until I am unconscious in sleep. I don't smell it in the morning upon waking. After brushing my teeth though, I usually have to blow my nose...before I knew this was a trigger, I blew my nose every morning after brushing my teeth and thats how I'd be stuck with it ALL DAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
-Unlike most of you, my sense of taste isn't so different when I am smelling "it." However, I do notice that since this has started, I have lost some sensitivity in my ability to smell smells. Also, when I smell "it," the smell will come out from my mouth as well...and most times I can taste a hint of it. It doesn't overpower the taste of my food, but if I am not eating...it's a pretty disgusting taste in my mouth. Nothing, that will ruin my appetite or cravings though.
-My solution(temporary solution) every day, is to use a neti pot. After brushing my teeth and washing my face I really need to clear my nose. I have always been this way. Usage of a neti pot allows me to blow my nose, clearing the drainage, and wash away the smell at the same time. Sometimes the smell will come back...and I just use the neti pot again. Sadly, I cant take the neti pot with me everywhere I go...but this is a big improvement in my condition day to day.
****My last bit of personal info will seem a bit strange...but this is something I have noticed for several months now. The smell also comes when I am with certain people. My aunt, my brother, and my dad. I live with my mom only...I have a sister who doesnt bring this on but I rarley see her. Now, when I am with my aunt, bro, and dad I laugh...alot. My breathing isnt calm because I am usually enjoying myself with them. But it is strange because at work I can laugh and breath according to my mood and excitement...and no smell comes.
*Once my dad came to my job...unexpected. I didnt have the smell all day...until the moment he walked into the pharmacy. I get the smell when I go to his house and when he rides in my car...pretty much anytime we are together.
*Two weeks ago, I went to pick my brother up from college. After a 4-hour ride not having the smell...it came as soon as my brother sat in my car to drive closer to his dorm building. He was home for 10 days for spring break. I had the smell everyday... I also had to bear his "you stink, you smell like s***, did you fart/soil yourself?" remarks.
*Every time I go to my aunts house, the smell comes. It's like clockwork in this case. After about 20-30min, there it is.
Well, I know this was long but thanks for reading. I have been suffering for a long time now and wish I could be treated for this. I even get envious that people around me can blow their nose, laugh loudly, and sigh through their nose with no worries of a terrible odor escaping from their nostrils. I am a 23 year old woman and afraid to get up close and personal with anyone. I feel cursed.
I am so thankful to have found this web page. This terrible affliction started almost a year ago - around the time I graduated from college. When I came home last summer(May), the smell was non-stop. There is good information here and I will just jot down some notes about my personal experience with "it."
-It took me many months to realize what caused it...laughing and deep breaths in/out. Sometimes bending down or turning my head too fast will cause it as well.
-I cannot describe the smell. It is simply "annoying." It doesn't smell like anything I've ever smelled on this earth. I am 90% sure most people can smell it. I am too afraid to ask someone for that last 10% of certainty. My brother says he smells s*** whenever I smell "it." So, I know it must smells bad. It doesn't smell like feces to me but I cannot trust my own sense of smell when this is happening. I am unsure if people can smell it before I do or after I think its gone.
-The smell can fill a whole room very quickly. I can leave and walk back in and its there still. I make a trail of it wherever I go.
-I can trigger the smell at any moment I choose(I usually do not do this for the heck of it) just by blowing my nose or taking a deep breath in through my nose. It lingers for hours! I can smell it every single second until I am unconscious in sleep. I don't smell it in the morning upon waking. After brushing my teeth though, I usually have to blow my nose...before I knew this was a trigger, I blew my nose every morning after brushing my teeth and thats how I'd be stuck with it ALL DAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
-Unlike most of you, my sense of taste isn't so different when I am smelling "it." However, I do notice that since this has started, I have lost some sensitivity in my ability to smell smells. Also, when I smell "it," the smell will come out from my mouth as well...and most times I can taste a hint of it. It doesn't overpower the taste of my food, but if I am not eating...it's a pretty disgusting taste in my mouth. Nothing, that will ruin my appetite or cravings though.
-My solution(temporary solution) every day, is to use a neti pot. After brushing my teeth and washing my face I really need to clear my nose. I have always been this way. Usage of a neti pot allows me to blow my nose, clearing the drainage, and wash away the smell at the same time. Sometimes the smell will come back...and I just use the neti pot again. Sadly, I cant take the neti pot with me everywhere I go...but this is a big improvement in my condition day to day.
****My last bit of personal info will seem a bit strange...but this is something I have noticed for several months now. The smell also comes when I am with certain people. My aunt, my brother, and my dad. I live with my mom only...I have a sister who doesnt bring this on but I rarley see her. Now, when I am with my aunt, bro, and dad I laugh...alot. My breathing isnt calm because I am usually enjoying myself with them. But it is strange because at work I can laugh and breath according to my mood and excitement...and no smell comes.
*Once my dad came to my job...unexpected. I didnt have the smell all day...until the moment he walked into the pharmacy. I get the smell when I go to his house and when he rides in my car...pretty much anytime we are together.
*Two weeks ago, I went to pick my brother up from college. After a 4-hour ride not having the smell...it came as soon as my brother sat in my car to drive closer to his dorm building. He was home for 10 days for spring break. I had the smell everyday... I also had to bear his "you stink, you smell like s***, did you fart/soil yourself?" remarks.
*Every time I go to my aunts house, the smell comes. It's like clockwork in this case. After about 20-30min, there it is.
Well, I know this was long but thanks for reading. I have been suffering for a long time now and wish I could be treated for this. I even get envious that people around me can blow their nose, laugh loudly, and sigh through their nose with no worries of a terrible odor escaping from their nostrils. I am a 23 year old woman and afraid to get up close and personal with anyone. I feel cursed.
1 Comments
lol me too, cursed.
Hi Katherine,
Thank you for this post. I know it has been years since this discussion started, but I hope maybe it will still send you a notice for my reply. I too have been experiencing this for the past year and have been trying to connect it to something for so long, but never found an answer. For a while the odor was being triggered maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Recently it slowed down and yesterday was the first time it happened in about a month, which prompted me to do a search online. What type of treatments did Dr. Henkin give you for this? Do you still experience the odor? I'd love to chat furture with you if you are available and see this message.
Best,
Karen
Thank you for this post. I know it has been years since this discussion started, but I hope maybe it will still send you a notice for my reply. I too have been experiencing this for the past year and have been trying to connect it to something for so long, but never found an answer. For a while the odor was being triggered maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Recently it slowed down and yesterday was the first time it happened in about a month, which prompted me to do a search online. What type of treatments did Dr. Henkin give you for this? Do you still experience the odor? I'd love to chat furture with you if you are available and see this message.
Best,
Karen
Hi Katherine , do you have an email addres. i have exactly the same symptons but would love to talk to someone about it!
I love in the UK, hope you can get in touch , my email address is luke.***@****
I love in the UK, hope you can get in touch , my email address is luke.***@****
Alright well, I think I know what’s troubling you and I know where you can find a cure. I suffered from the same symptoms for five years before I found someone who could help me.
You have what my doctor calls cyclic smell distortions. People with this condition smell unpleasant odors that seem to switch on and switch off throughout the day. These bad odors might smell rotten or burned and they tend to occur only in one nostril. In my case, the unpleasant smells started when I sniffed, blew my nose, sneezed or laughed. However they can also manifest for no obvious reason. This disorder progresses over time, but you will probably NOT notice that unpleasant odor directly after you wake up (at least at first).
When these smells first appeared, I got temporary relief by pinching on my nose and holding my breath. A salt water rinse also helped to suppress my symptoms. Eventually though, all my coping strategies stopped working.
Cyclic smell distortions do not happen in your nose. You actually have a sensory seizure disorder, which is caused by a slight chemical imbalance in your brain. Unlike motor seizures, sensory seizures are partial seizures and they don’t manifest in a loss of motor control. Instead they affect how people perceive sounds or images, or in your case, smells. Your seizures are activated when you stimulate the nerves in your nose by laughing or talking.
If this condition goes untreated it will often get worse and worse, until the smell is unremitting. so it’s really serious. It is also extremely rare and there’s only one doctor I’m certain will recognize it since he was the one who identified it. He’s found a means to control this disorder. You can take medication for this and get it completely under control. You’ll get rid of that smell completely. But because you have something so rare you really have to contact him. He’s a specialist named Doctor Henkin and he’s the head of The Taste and Smell Clinic in Washington DC.
I strongly urge you go to this website:
www.tasteandsmell.com
and either email or call him. It might cost you a plane trip but because this is so rare, the clinic covered a lot of my expenses so they could study this disorder.
Here’s an article from the taste and smell clinic about your condition:
http://www.tasteandsmell.com/aug07.htm
I hope this helps and I sure hope you get this email. I remember searching on the web just like you. I found NOTHING. It really got me down. But during those searches I also ran into a lot of people who had the same symptoms and they didn’t know what to do either. So now that I know, I’m trying to post stuff around the web so other people might read this and get some help. Anyway.. Please email me if you have any questions: ***@****
good luck
-Katherine
You have what my doctor calls cyclic smell distortions. People with this condition smell unpleasant odors that seem to switch on and switch off throughout the day. These bad odors might smell rotten or burned and they tend to occur only in one nostril. In my case, the unpleasant smells started when I sniffed, blew my nose, sneezed or laughed. However they can also manifest for no obvious reason. This disorder progresses over time, but you will probably NOT notice that unpleasant odor directly after you wake up (at least at first).
When these smells first appeared, I got temporary relief by pinching on my nose and holding my breath. A salt water rinse also helped to suppress my symptoms. Eventually though, all my coping strategies stopped working.
Cyclic smell distortions do not happen in your nose. You actually have a sensory seizure disorder, which is caused by a slight chemical imbalance in your brain. Unlike motor seizures, sensory seizures are partial seizures and they don’t manifest in a loss of motor control. Instead they affect how people perceive sounds or images, or in your case, smells. Your seizures are activated when you stimulate the nerves in your nose by laughing or talking.
If this condition goes untreated it will often get worse and worse, until the smell is unremitting. so it’s really serious. It is also extremely rare and there’s only one doctor I’m certain will recognize it since he was the one who identified it. He’s found a means to control this disorder. You can take medication for this and get it completely under control. You’ll get rid of that smell completely. But because you have something so rare you really have to contact him. He’s a specialist named Doctor Henkin and he’s the head of The Taste and Smell Clinic in Washington DC.
I strongly urge you go to this website:
www.tasteandsmell.com
and either email or call him. It might cost you a plane trip but because this is so rare, the clinic covered a lot of my expenses so they could study this disorder.
Here’s an article from the taste and smell clinic about your condition:
http://www.tasteandsmell.com/aug07.htm
I hope this helps and I sure hope you get this email. I remember searching on the web just like you. I found NOTHING. It really got me down. But during those searches I also ran into a lot of people who had the same symptoms and they didn’t know what to do either. So now that I know, I’m trying to post stuff around the web so other people might read this and get some help. Anyway.. Please email me if you have any questions: ***@****
good luck
-Katherine
1 Comments
Hi Kathrine are you still there, I would love to talk to you about this.
i have the same thing.
its a horrible smell and i cannot even taste food.
it usually happens when i blow my nose.
its a horrible smell and i cannot even taste food.
it usually happens when i blow my nose.
I keep smelling tobacco and no-one in the same room as me can smell it (apart from the odd occasion). I thought it was coming from our log fire but I smell it away from home and in my bedroom. The funny thing is that my deceased Father of 8 years smoked a pipe and the stale smell is very similar to that.
Has anyone got an explanation?
A.
Has anyone got an explanation?
A.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Ear, Nose & Throat Community
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
Discover the common causes of and treatments for a sore throat.
Learn about what actually causes your temperature to spike.
Find out which foods you should watch out for.
Family medicine doctor Enoch Choi, MD helps differentiate between the common cold and more threatening (bacterial) infections
Dr. Steven Park reveals 5 reasons why breathing through your nose could change your life
