Imagine a world without smells

WHAT are your favourite smells? A roast dinner cooking, freshly laundered clothes, coconut body cream, cut grass, a scented candle, newborn baby, washed hair, lavender, the smell of the earth after it has rained, the smell of Christmas, brewing coffee.

Smells help to commit nostalgia to memory. What would life be like without a sense of smell?

I discovered by accident at the beginning of the year that I had lost my sense of smell.

We were staying at a lodge on a safari park, as we passed by some wild cats, my mum mentioned how the stench of urine was catching at the back of her throat.

I sniffed and sniffed but couldn’t get a waft of anything.

I was taken by surprise that my smell had disappeared.

I tried to think back to when or where had I lost it – a bit like an umbrella absent mindedly left behind or a pair of sunglasses put down and inadvertently forgotten about.

Being an optimist, I initially thought about all the benefits of not having a sense of smell.

All those nasties that I would be forever oblivious to.

The thought of not having to smell those things that previously made me gag and retch was quite wonderful.

Of all the senses a person could lose, surely smell has to be the one with the least impact.

You can carry on with life without having to make any sort of adjustment.

Alerted

But then I began to worry about the impact anosmia (the medical term for the loss of sense of smell) would have on my life – what if there was a fire in the middle of the night that I would not be alerted to by the smell of smoke, what if a food or milk was off – just before you go to put it in your mouth you get a rancid warning smell, what if I couldn’t smell my own body odour?

I knew that a large part of taste is linked to smell. What if my loss of smell meant that I lost all appreciation for tasty foods?

I recently went to a restaurant where they offered us to smell various cheeses and bought out little tubs of tea leaves to smell – I just had to appreciate the colours and textures instead.

I decided to get my anosmia looked at.

My GP looked up my nose and prescribed some steroid spray, however it had no effect.

I was told that a bang to the head can impact the ability for nerve signals to get from the nose to the brain. However, I have no recollection of having a knock or bang.

Around 20% of cases of loss of smell the cause can’t be found.

So, I have lost something I never thought would matter and whilst damage to other senses are seen as traumatic and debilitating, my loss of smell is seen as trivial.

If you have been affected by this article go to www.fifthsense.org.uk for support.

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