Over the past few years, more and more people have been complaining about distorted odors, but not everyone knows that this can be a symptom of a disease or its consequence. What is parosmia, why does it appear and how to deal with it?
What Is Parosmia
Parosmia is a disorder of smell in which the perception of odor is distorted or nauseating associations are created in the presence of a source of odor.
Instead of pleasant aromas, people can perceive unpleasant, often non-existent odors. This condition can significantly impair quality of life and cause psychological distress.
However, parosmia is not the only option for changing the olfactory sense organ. There is also phantosmia. It is a sense of smell in the absence of it. Anosmia. It is a complete loss of smell, and hyperosmia – an increased ability to perceive smell.
Particular attention was paid to parosmia and anosmia in 2020, when it became a frequent symptom and consequence of the COVID-19 disease.
Reasons for Its Appearance
The true reasons for the appearance and development at the present stage have not been fully investigated. But there are a number of reasons that more often than others lead to distortion of odors.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Head injuries, and with them damage to the olfactory nerves or brain, can lead to distorted perception of smells.
With such injuries, parosmia manifests itself quite quickly and clearly. The perception of the smells of ordinary environmental objects changes. It changes beyond recognition or are replaced by others.
Smoking
German scientists conducted a study that revealed the relationship between smoking and taste and smell disorders in groups of people.
The results showed that heavy smokers have an increased risk of sensory dysfunction and the development of parosmia.
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COVID-19
Complete loss of taste and smell has long been the main symptom of Covid. It indicated infection at an early stage, but they could also remain after treatment.
In general, with any infectious-inflammatory respiratory diseases, the virus can cause swelling of the nasal mucosa, disruption of the receptors, dysfunction of the olfactory nerve, which leads to the appearance of parosmia.
Tumors
With benign and malignant formations in the cavities of the nasal sinuses and olfactory bulbs, as well as in the frontal cortex of the brain, parosmia can be detected in patients.
In this case, it is only a consequence of the tumor’s effect on the neural pathways through which information should be transmitted from the nose to the brain.
Neurological Disorders
Diseases such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease can significantly affect olfactory function.
Since parosmia can be associated with neurodegenerative diseases, the risk group includes elderly people or those who have hereditary neurological diseases.
What Odors Are Distorted and Why?
There is no specific list of such odors. This could be food or a favorite perfume. And for some, even the smell of their own sweat will be distorted and make their life worse.
Quite often, people with parosmia complain of smells of rot, burning and chemicals from objects and products that have never smelled like that before. Thus, after COVID-19, many people who recovered from the disease began to stop eating meat en masse, as it acquired a “spoiled” smell.
Most often the odors of food, flowers and household chemicals are distorted. This is due to damage or inflammation of the olfactory receptors and nerves that transmit signals to the brain. As a result, the brain incorrectly interprets the information it receives.
It is interesting that with parosmia, not only pleasant things begin to smell unpleasant, but also vice versa. Thus, spoiled foods may smell normal or even pleasant to people with odor distortion.
How to Deal with Parosmia
If your perception of smell changes, it is important to consult a doctor to rule out parosmia as a symptom of a more serious illness.
If parosmia is a consequence of any disease, there are different methods for restoring the perception of smells. The doctor will talk about them during a face-to-face appointment.
At the same time, you can do olfactory training. Regularly inhaling different scents can help restore normal smell perception.
You should also pay attention to proper care of the nasal cavity. You can use saline solutions on a daily basis. This way you will wash away the particles that cause this syndrome.
For neurological and other diseases that affect the distortion of odors, the best method to deal with the problem is proper treatment. If parosmia has been going on for a long time, it may be worth getting psychological help.
The recovery time for your sense of smell varies from person to person and depends on how quickly your olfactory nerves can recover from damage. In most cases, parosmia goes away, but it may take several months to several years for the sense of smell to return to normal.
For people who have been struggling with parosmia for a long time and unsuccessfully, there is good news from the world of science. Scientists are actively developing technologies that can help people with non-functioning senses.
Thus, “electronic noses” are already being actively developed – devices that make it possible to read odors and transmit information about them directly to the brain.
However, all these methods of restoring the perception of smells should be used only after consulting a doctor.