Some of us as at one time or another take our senses for granted: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. How would you feel if you were born without or to suddenly lose one of your senses? Can you imagine how it feels when you do not have the power within you to take control of your own senses. To answer the simple question that some asks you, Can you smell that?

A person not having their full senses can affect their well-being. It can take toll on an individual person’s daily life both physically and psychologically.

A person not having their full senses can affect their well-being. It can take toll on an individual person’s daily life both physically and psychologically.

For whatever reason the loss of smell for some can be extremely difficult to live with. A whole emotional journey that you would never really think of can be difficult for a person in everyday existence.  For example living life as a family, that simple chocolate cookies baking in the oven, the wonderful aroma that is floating around the kitchen, have a taste says Mum, loss of sense of smell affects the way food tastes. But they taste it anyway. 

The emotional journey goes on, the alteration in taste can lead to malnutrition . Other problems in the kitchen through lack of smell can be highlighted if we didn’t set a timer certainly did not smell it burning — food safety.  Whilst we are talking about safety, home saftey needs to be highlighted.  Alarms should always be fitted, especially for gas.

A great number of people with clinical severe depression have no sense of smell. 90% of covid patients lost their sense of smell.

A physical and social problem is personal life hygiene. Some people become obsessed. Concerned about the body odour; worry they smell, bath and shower constantly. Don’t leave the house — reclusive. Or they become the exact opposite don’t notice the smell at all and go around with a pungent odour and no- one wants to be near them and they make no friends.

Another problem is social relationships, a person with no sense of smell worries continually about keeping their child safe and looking after their newborn with all their own issues.

Spatial Navigation

A great number of people with the loss of this sense say they feel lost. They don’t feel able to travel or guide within both familiar and new environments. for Example driving to work or finding their way around a new town

Some people with no sense of smell, especially after a brain injury can’t do their job.

On speaking with someone with a loss of sense of smell I was make aware that some folks adapt less well than others in the long term. There are a proportion of people with the loss of the sense hope that it will return, some accept it, others find that balance.

Neurodegenerative Diseases

On speaking to a consultant neurologist, he spoke of when he was in clinic; when speaking to patients with Parkinson’s and asked if they could smell. The answer quite considerably was “now you come to mention it”. He did a research on smell assessments — 165 participants after death, striking finding 17% more likely link with Parkinson’s and smell loss.

There is no firm test to diagnose Parkinson’s, no individual blood test or scan to jump out and say this is it. However we do know that smell loss is an early symptom in a small number of people, therefore smell loss is an important feature.

People diagnosed with intermittent epilepsy also have a worse sense of smell.

So perhaps the next time we complain about that awful smell; it may be the manure in the farm field or wet dog after a long walk in the rain. It is time to be grateful that the ability to acknowledge these powerful aromas and be happy that the answer is YES I can smell that. Because unfortunately some people cannot.