I LOVE TO SMELL.
I enjoy the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee, a fragrant soap or lotion, and the aroma of sautéed onions and garlic. In the fall, the scent of leaves and a bonfire relaxes me, while a spring rainfall or the smell of newly mowed grass makes me enjoy nature so much.
But sometimes I lose my sense of smell. For me, it is when I get a cold or sinus infection and for a few days I have to deal with not smelling very well. But there are other reasons we can lose this wonderful sense.
Loss of smell can be partial or complete—a condition called anosmia. It is not just enjoyment of life that is affected but also health and safety. Our sense of smell helps whet our appetite and serves as a warning system to avert dangers and toxins.
“Two of the great joys in people’s lives are the sensations of smell and taste,” says R. Peter Manes, MD, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Yale Medicine. “When these senses are altered or absent, people lose that pleasure and can feel isolated from those around them who are not afflicted.”
When we get a cold or sinus infection, anosmia is the partial or full loss of smell. Anosmia can be a temporary or permanent condition. You can partially or completely lose your sense of smell when the mucous membranes in your nose are irritated or obstructed, such as when you have a severe cold or a sinus infection. If your ability to smell doesn’t return after your congestion clears, it could be a symptom of another issue and you should see a doctor.
Our sense of smell is important to our overall health. Not smelling food aromas could make us lose our appetite and cause malnutrition. Also, a working sense of smell can detect whether a food is soured or rancid. If people can’t smell spoilage, they could eat spoiled food. Those with anosmia could also breathe toxic, polluted, or smoke-filled air.
Some causes of anosmia include the common cold, influenza (flu), hay fever, acute sinusitis, COVID-19, and non-allergic rhinitis (congestion and sneezing not caused by allergies).
Sometimes our nasal passages can get blocked by tumors, nasal polyps, or nasal deformity. Our olfactory pathways, which send messages between the nasal passages and the brain, can become impaired from age and from certain medications.
Also, certain medical conditions or procedures can dull or diminish the senseofsmell.TheseincludeAlzheimer’s disease, brain aneurysm, brain cancer, chemical exposure to insecticides or solvents, diabetes, Huntington’s disease, Kallmann’s syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome, Korsakoff’s psychosis, malnutrition, multiple sclerosis, multiple system atrophy (MSA), Paget’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Pick’s disease, radiation therapy, rhinoplasty, schizophrenia, Sjorgren’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and zinc deficiency.
Your physician can help you find out what is wrong with your smeller. Since there are a number of reasons you can’t smell, your doctor might start eliminating basic possible causes— sinus issues, chemotherapy, or other possible causes that might be a part of your medical life.
Sometimes the cause of smell disturbances cannot be determined, thus making treatment a challenge. It is important to see a doctor if you experience smelling problems because early detectioncanhelpintreatmentifitpoints to a disease as the underlying cause.
Our sense of smell is a gift that we should enjoy and not take for granted.
Sister Karen Zielinski is the Director of Canticle Studio. Canticle Studio is a part of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, OH’s overall advancement effort and has a mission of being a creative center where artists generate works, products, and services in harmony with the mission of the Sisters St. Francis. She can be reached at kzielins@sistersosf.org or 419-824-3543. ✲
