Parosmia

Parosmia is a distorted perception of odors. It is not considered a separate disease, but a symptom of other diseases.

Among the varieties of parosmia, there are two opposite conditions: kakosmia (constant sensation of unpleasant odors) and evosmia (constant sensation of pleasant odors).

Most often, patients complain about bad smells. Only a few “lucky ones” can smell pleasant smells, but even for them it is strange: imagine you are in a fish market, but instead of the expected smell, you smell completely different scents, for example, the smells of flowers or lemons.

If the smells do not correspond to the expected habitual ones, it creates discomfort. This is why an experiment with the use of artificial scents in the London Underground failed in 2001, when the unobtrusive fresh floral scent Madeleine was sprayed at three stations: there was no improvement in the mood of passengers, and some even complained about it to the management of the underground.

Parosmia reasons

People started paying particular attention to odor distortion during the coronavirus pandemic. As a rule, infections most often disturb odors or completely deprive a person of their sense of smell (anosmia).

The main causes of parosmia:

Parosmia and anosmia are one of the first signs of serious diseases - tumors in certain parts of the brain associated with the processing of odors, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Of course, it is not recommended to ignore this symptom.

Why are odors distorted? What is the mechanism?

It is believed that when exposed to viruses, bacteria, toxins and other substances, the olfactory receptors in the nose and other parts of the olfactory system - the nerves, bulb, tract, and even certain parts of the brain that are responsible for the sense of smell - are damaged.

If diseases are accompanied by severe swelling of the nasal mucosa, this can also affect the perception of odors. After the edema subsides, the sense of smell returns to normal.

The mechanism of odor distortion in covid has not yet been studied: it is assumed that this is due to damage to the supporting cells of the olfactory epithelium in the nose (the virus interacts with their protein to enter the body), but in some cases, the olfactory receptors themselves, nerves are damaged and the central nervous system, as evidenced by changes in some areas of the brain on MRI scans.

With sinusitis, inflamed adenoids, foreign bodies in the nose, an unpleasant putrid odor can come from inside of the body as a result of inflammatory processes of the mucous membrane and its secretions.

Examples of odor distortion during parosmia

Due to the coronavirus, the topic of odor distortion has become more common. People who have had covid have organised communities on the Internet to discuss odor sensations, mostly unpleasant: familiar food products (especially meat, onions, coffee, chocolate, fruits, wine) begin to smell rotten or reminiscent of unpleasant odors such as hydrogen sulphide, mold, fish, gasoline, metal or acetone.

Consequences of parosmia

How long does parosmia last?

It depends on the cause.

In infectious diseases, parosmia disappears within 2-4 weeks of the body recovering from the disease. After covid-19, recovery might take more than 6 months (sometimes one year or more).

Stopping smoking and inhaling toxins leads to a rapid improvement in the sense of smell, but the recovery time is different in every case.

Parosmia treatment

There is no separate treatment for parosmia. It all depends on the cause of its occurrence: most often these are other diseases that need to be treated as the root cause.

The main recommendation is to consult an otolaryngologist. After the examination, medical treatment (metabolic and nootropic drugs), physiotherapy, washing, inhalation, depending on the primary disease, can be prescribed. Self-medication can be harmful.

In some cases, odor training helps: inhaling certain aromas (coffee, mint, ginger, cinnamon, garlic) for 20-30 seconds and trying to remember them.

If the smells of most dishes are intolerable, then it is recommended to switch to foods with neutral aromas - cereals, yoghurts, protein shakes.

Prevention of parosmia