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Howard Levine, M.D.
Mt. Sinai Nasal-Sinus Center, Cleveland, OH
Remember holding your nose when your mother was about to give you a spoonful of medicine? Even as a child you realized the close relationship between what you taste and what you smell.
If your favorite eating pleasures have lost their delicious taste, it is usually a decreased sense of smell that is to blame.
The senses of taste and smell are intimately linked to one another. Often the loss of one will result in the loss of the other.
For many people the problem may be a minor annoyance because they are saddened from the loss of the scent of a rose or a favorite cooking aroma. But for others, the loss of taste and small can actually be quite a serious matter.
The inability to smell a gas leak, a smoldering fire or other noxious odors like spoiled food can be very dangerous.
Taste and smell disorders are common. It is estimated that more than two million Americans have a smell and taste disorder. Because of this problem, approximately 200,000 people visit a physician each year.
The most common causes for loss of sense of taste and smell are the result of a nasal obstruction, such as the common cold, breathing allergies and nasal congestion from irritants like cigarette smoke and pollutants.
Nasal polyps, small non-cancerous growths in the nose and sinuses, can block the ability for aromas to reach the nerves high up in the nose which allow a sense of smell.
Previous surgery or a blow to the head can upset your sense of smell because the nerves of smell may be damaged or blocked by scar tissue.
Occupational exposure to chemicals may also lessen the sense of smell and certain medications can also affect the sense of smell.
Also, as we get older, like vision and hearing, the sense of smell becomes less accurate.
In rare instances, benign nonmalignant tumors grow on the nerves of smell and should be identified and removed.
It is difficult to test the sense of taste or smell, but some "scratch and sniff" and taste tests do exist.
A nasal examination with a nasal telescope (also called an endoscope), which illuminates and magnifies the areas of the nose where problems can occur, often will indicate the problem and direct your physician to select an appropriate treatment.
An X-ray, usually CAT scan, is needed to look at the sinuses and noses and areas of the nerves for smell. This should be done by an expert in nose and sinus problems.
While most people who experience a loss of their sense of smell may only be aware of the sensory loss many will also notice loss or change in taste since much of taste is smell.
For some people, it is not an actual loss, but rather an alteration in some smells or taste. Other people become aware of odors which are actually not really present. These phantom "can be very annoying.
Wait it out.
If you have had a cold with a stuffy nose, chances are a few days wait will see your sense of smell return.
Sweat it out.
If your nose is stuffed up from a cold, mild exercise or a hot shower may "open it up."
Stop Smoking.
Smoking causes long-term damage to the sense of smell. If you quit smoking, you may notice some improvement.
Check with a physician.
If your sense of smell seems to have disappeared or changed, consultation with an ear, nose and throat physician is a good idea.
A sinus infection can block your sense of smell and depending on the cause of the sinus infection, a more serious condition may be present.
With today's modern nasal telescopes, an expert nasal physician can visually examine the intricate sinus passages and determine very exactly the causes of a blocked nasal airway.
Sometimes a short period of time on antibiotics will remedy the problem. Sometimes, outpatient surgery procedure is necessary.
Whatever the cause, no one needs to be troubled from not knowing the cause of a loss of sense of taste or smell.
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