phantom smells

[i_am_who_i_am]

I have been noticing that lately I have been having these random smells in my nose that are not really there. They seem to be inside my nose they dont seem to be coming from outside my nose. when they come they only laswt a split second. for some reason it seems like they are in the top of my nose. i feel like they are kinda in my mind like when you think  of a smell or food and you get that faint memory sensation of the smell. it does not happen often. i am also pregnant and thought maybe its because i have a super sensitive smell. they smells are not unplesant they are usually nice smells. like lastnight it was cheesewhiz. they literally only last like 1/2 a second and i can tell they are not coming from outside my nose. and they are very very faint. they almost feel like memory of a smell but i dont have to be thinking about it when it happens. does this sound normal and does everyone experience this or does it sound like something is wrrong?

[trapperwv1]

A related discussion, Phantosia? was started.

[donna303]

i smell car exhast all the time. what causes this

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

Disturbance of smell can be from many causes. Some include vitamin deficiency, infection, trauma, aging, tobacco abuse, psychiatric, seizure, etc.

What you describe may be an olfactory hallucination. You should discuss your symptoms with your physician. You may need a referral to neurology or ENT depending on what he/she finds in history and examination. I would suggest you obtain an electroencephalogram (EEG) to evaluate the electrical nature of your brain.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.

[i_am_who_i_am]

one more thing sorry to keep going on. right now i have a little bit of a stuffy nose and have been having a few headaches mostly in behind my eyes. for years i always have the feeling of needing to sniffle even if i dont have a runny nose. its kinda like a feeling in the top of my nose that i need to sniff. most other people notice me sniffing and ask why and i dont even realize i did it. so i wonder if this has anything to do with the smelling things in my nose,

[i_am_who_i_am]

i also want to add that i have severe anxiety and thought maybe that could be causing this. another thing is that i usually get a little tingling sensation in my nose when it happens. also the more i think about it the more it seems to happen. whatever it is it only seems to be happening in the top part of my nose and nowhere else and the smells do not seem to be coming from outside my nose when they happen they definately seem to be a quick sensation at the top of my nose.