My sense of smell came back

My sense of smell came back slowly. First I noticed I could smell coffee, and then I noticed other things. At first some of the smells were the wrong smells, for example, my body still smelled of celery. Also, last summer I found I could smell many musty plant smells which I couldn't before, so I was continually sniffing and saying "what's that smell?" and wanting to track it down to some bush or other like a bloodhound. I found it very entertaining. It was a long time before I could smell all the smells, for example, smelling bleach took quite a long time, but now I find it a terribly strong smell, I can smell it from yards away. And I can smell shampoo! How lovely!

I told my hairdresser about this. She told me that her sister had a terrible accident to her head, and lost both her sense of smell and her sense of taste, which is a real affliction. My hairdresser says recently she has noticed her sister sniffing at things in a puzzled way. I do hope it means she is recovering.

I think that it was the blow to my upper lip that temporarily damaged my sense of smell, although I can't find it written anywhere that this is possible as the olfactory nerves are not located there.

My sense of smell has gone

I used to have a keen sense of smell - I could smell gas, burning, scents - I had confidence knowing that I could detect a clean smell from a dangerous or dirty one.

Since last spring I have a very little sense of smell. I can't smell burning, gas or bleach. I can't smell most herbs, or any flower scents, not even strong ones.I really miss the scents of toiletries: shampoo, body lotion, perfume. I used to love that.

I can't smell baking or bread or doughnuts, none of those things. Luckily I can still taste food from my taste buds.

My doctor referred me to a specialist. ENT. But she wanted to put a camera up my nose and into my sinuses and down the back of my throat. I said no. I was terrified by the look of the tube - it hardly looked flexible.I guess there is nothing to be done now. I just have to get used to life as it will be. I have still many sources of pleasure. Sad face.

My daughter told her friends about my sense of smell, and she was surprised to find that a few of them said - "My mother's sense of smell has gone too." I said to her "Do they do their own cleaning?" "Why?" she asked. I told her that the GP had asked me if I used strong chemicals for my work. Well, cleaning uses strong chemicals in that hardly a week goes by when I don't use bleach for something. But I don't use these chemicals all day every day. Frances reported a mixed result. Some friends mums clean, some employ a cleaner. But it is likely that they all use some bleach-based cleaning spray.

I can still smell onions (a chemical smell) celery (very strongly) and garlic (ugh!) and all these smells have lost their scent and only have their chemical underlay. My own smell is strongly of celery.

Recently I thought my sense of smell was coming back. I could smell bleach and coffee. A couple of days later it had gone again.

What happened next

Accident in Hardware store: no sense of smell

As I was choosing a new toilet seat in a famous Australian hardware shop, one fell on my face and injured me between my nose and my upper lip. It was a deep cut which has taken a long time to heal. Sadly, I have now discovered that I have lost my sense of smell. But I can still taste my food. I can sort of taste very strong smells, like Jeyes fluid, which seem to go to the back of the throat and I get a bit of the savour of them. 

Things I can't smell: cooking meat from a barbecue, mint (nothing), basil (very faint), roses (nothing), lavender (nothing). I am certainly going to miss my sense of smell! How will I know if the food is cooked? Whether a dish is spicy? Whether there is a gas leak?Recently I entered a baking competition and all the time I was baking those cakes (I practiced) I didn't realise I couldn't smell them cooking and when the family said they liked the smell of the baking I just thought they were being nice or something. I didn't realise I had lost that sense. As usual, I can breathe fine through my nose. I feel sad about it but but hopeful that this state is temporary. 

A smell I particularly miss is the smell of shampoo and toiletries - the smells that waft out of a steamy bathroom. 

Post script - October - still no sense of smell but I got compensation from the shop for the scar. There seems to be no way that my lack of smell is linked with the toilet seat accident.