I lost most of my sense of smell about five years ago when I got a virus of
some kind. Up til that time, I had an acute sense of smell and taste. I
recovered a bit after a year but not much. I may or may not smell smoke; I
can't use my nose to determine if my clothes are fresh or if the food I eat
is ok.
Needless to say, I wash a lot of clothes and I have to depend on my wife to
make sure my food is ok. Is there any hope of recovering additional
sensitivty or is this something I have to live with? Your comments would
be appreciated.
Answer----
Disturbances in the sense of smell and secondarily in the sense of taste are most commonly related to anatomic or pathophysiologic obstruction of the nasal airway. Typically such obstructions can be easily diagnosed by physical examination and routine lab studies. Common causes include deviations of the nasal septum, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, or nasal polyps. Occasionally the reason for a loss of the sense of smell cannot be easily identified by routine measures. In a patient whose primary complaint is absence or decrease in sense of smell who has few or no other focal nasal or sinus symptoms, and in whom the physical examination is within normal limits, I will usually recommend a CT scan of the paranasal sinuses to rule out occult chronic sinusitis or neoplasm. It has been postulated that as many as a third of all patients with absent or diminished sense of smell where the cause is not determined have a zinc deficiency. This is based on the observation that about 1/3 of patients with idiopathic hyposmia or anosmia will recover some or all of their sense of smell with long term (> 2-4 months) of zinc supplementation. There have also been some reports demonstrating return of sense of smell using aminophylline (an asthma medication) in patients who failed to improve with zinc therapy. Of course, the assumption is made that obvious causes of loss of smell have either been ruled out or corrected such as those previously mentioned (septal deviations, allergy, infection).
--
Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
NOTICE: OFCN is not engaged in the rendering of professional medical services. The information contained on this system or any other OFCN system should not supplant individual professional consultation. It is offered exclusively as a community education service. Advice on individual problems must be obtained directly from a professional.
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