Aa
Strange smell
I smell exhaust fumes throughout the day, wherever I am, My wife or co-workers dont smell anythind. What do you think?
I am 50+, male and otherwise good health.
Last August I chainsawed a tree that had (unbeknownst to me) a thick, woody poison ivy vine growing up the trunk. I have not had many exposures to poison ivy but have had a relatively mild reaction to it in the past.
This time, I got a really extreme case on my forearms, presumably due to the spattering of atomized oils from the stem that were spattered back by the chain. After the reaction developed, I used some of that new urrushiol-removal treatment, and it lasted about 10 days. But the lesions were pretty bad, I still have abnormal scarred skin from it on my arms.
On the other hand, I didn't notice anything abnormal on my face or with my breathing at the time. However, I figure I MUST have inhaled some of the oil at the time but didn't notice anything at the time.
However, at the height of the rash on my arms - 4-5 days post exposure, things started tasting funny to me. Later on, I realized that the problem was in fact a smell problem.
Some tastes/smells remain normal. Others revert to a sweetish, sickly taste/smell that I call the "default" smell (or taste).
A strange collection of tastes/smells all revert to this same smell. They include:
1) Strong/disagreeable smells such as skunk/B.O., feces and urine.
Weirdly, urine now smells more strongly than feces, and they smell EXACTLY THE SAME. For a single odorant, the strength of the smell seems to be commensurate with the strength the "actual" smell would have.
2) Burnt smells/tastes (anything barbecued). These are distinctly weaker than they should be and all now smell/taste the same (default).
3) Certain foods (onion, fats in prepared foods such as potato chips).
Other tastes/smells seem to be weaker than they used to be, and have a "tinge" of the default flavor/smell. These include tea, coffee and certain kinds of chocolate. I had a chance to drink some expensive wine recently, and found that the taste was recognizable as wine, but the special nature of the wine (Chateau de Pommard, about 6 years old - a wine I used to love) was ruined.
This situation hasn't gone away, and doesn't seem to be getting better.
Im guessing it is something neurological and that the poison ivy was a coincidence, but after reading up a bit I'm not so sure......
Any ideas?
BTW, I am a trained neurobiologist and work in the area of neurodegenerative diseases. I'm pretty sure it isn't prodromal AD or PD. It has been very difficult to find a neurologist to see me (both they and I are ridiculously busy), so I have no idea whether it is some kind of meningioma. My own primary doctor seemed to dismiss the poison ivy theory when I suggested it, but I'm not sure his mind was on the problem (he had a bad cold himself at the time).
Last August I chainsawed a tree that had (unbeknownst to me) a thick, woody poison ivy vine growing up the trunk. I have not had many exposures to poison ivy but have had a relatively mild reaction to it in the past.
This time, I got a really extreme case on my forearms, presumably due to the spattering of atomized oils from the stem that were spattered back by the chain. After the reaction developed, I used some of that new urrushiol-removal treatment, and it lasted about 10 days. But the lesions were pretty bad, I still have abnormal scarred skin from it on my arms.
On the other hand, I didn't notice anything abnormal on my face or with my breathing at the time. However, I figure I MUST have inhaled some of the oil at the time but didn't notice anything at the time.
However, at the height of the rash on my arms - 4-5 days post exposure, things started tasting funny to me. Later on, I realized that the problem was in fact a smell problem.
Some tastes/smells remain normal. Others revert to a sweetish, sickly taste/smell that I call the "default" smell (or taste).
A strange collection of tastes/smells all revert to this same smell. They include:
1) Strong/disagreeable smells such as skunk/B.O., feces and urine.
Weirdly, urine now smells more strongly than feces, and they smell EXACTLY THE SAME. For a single odorant, the strength of the smell seems to be commensurate with the strength the "actual" smell would have.
2) Burnt smells/tastes (anything barbecued). These are distinctly weaker than they should be and all now smell/taste the same (default).
3) Certain foods (onion, fats in prepared foods such as potato chips).
Other tastes/smells seem to be weaker than they used to be, and have a "tinge" of the default flavor/smell. These include tea, coffee and certain kinds of chocolate. I had a chance to drink some expensive wine recently, and found that the taste was recognizable as wine, but the special nature of the wine (Chateau de Pommard, about 6 years old - a wine I used to love) was ruined.
This situation hasn't gone away, and doesn't seem to be getting better.
Im guessing it is something neurological and that the poison ivy was a coincidence, but after reading up a bit I'm not so sure......
Any ideas?
BTW, I am a trained neurobiologist and work in the area of neurodegenerative diseases. I'm pretty sure it isn't prodromal AD or PD. It has been very difficult to find a neurologist to see me (both they and I are ridiculously busy), so I have no idea whether it is some kind of meningioma. My own primary doctor seemed to dismiss the poison ivy theory when I suggested it, but I'm not sure his mind was on the problem (he had a bad cold himself at the time).
Hi Rickylen,
I think you are having phantosmia, it is an olfactory hallucination. In this condition you detect the smell which is not present in that environment (as mentioned by you, others are not able to smell the same which you are doing so).
In this condition the odors detected may vary from person to person and may be foul or pleasant. They can occur in one or both nostrils.
It is as a result of head injury, sinusitis,migraine, brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, stroke, etc.
Where as parosmia is a condition where the person experiences distortion of the smell which is already present. Sometimes this is also associated with loss of smell. Seen in patients after severe respiratory infections.
So, what ever might be the explanation, consult your ENT specialist/neurologist and do as advised.
Regards
OHNS2010
I think you are having phantosmia, it is an olfactory hallucination. In this condition you detect the smell which is not present in that environment (as mentioned by you, others are not able to smell the same which you are doing so).
In this condition the odors detected may vary from person to person and may be foul or pleasant. They can occur in one or both nostrils.
It is as a result of head injury, sinusitis,migraine, brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, stroke, etc.
Where as parosmia is a condition where the person experiences distortion of the smell which is already present. Sometimes this is also associated with loss of smell. Seen in patients after severe respiratory infections.
So, what ever might be the explanation, consult your ENT specialist/neurologist and do as advised.
Regards
OHNS2010
1 Comments
You just might be hyper-sensitive to smells. I was, after recovering from pneumonia last winter. I couldn't drive down the road with out wanting to pass out from the exhaust fumes (this had not been a problem for me prior). It went away a few weeks later. You could be reacting to a medicine you are taking or something else. Look into all of the side effects.
Do some research on phantosmia and parosmia. Phantosmia is a medical condition in which the patient smells things that are not there - phantom smells. The typical smell is some sort of smoke - wood, cigarrette, exhaust... Parosmia is a distortion of odors that are present, usually to a foul odor.
These conditions frequently start with an upper respiratory infection. One line of thought is that there is some nerve damage causing the smell. There are other possible causes and you should be evaluated by a doctor to make sure nothing more serious is going on. There are some treatments, but usually time is the best healer. The smells do normalize for most patients over time.
These conditions frequently start with an upper respiratory infection. One line of thought is that there is some nerve damage causing the smell. There are other possible causes and you should be evaluated by a doctor to make sure nothing more serious is going on. There are some treatments, but usually time is the best healer. The smells do normalize for most patients over time.
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
