Contents:
- Medical Video: I smell dead people Psychic claims she senses when people are close to dying - but can't save them
- Why can someone lose the sense of smell?
- What does it mean if someone can't smell?
- How is the sense of smell related to human age?
Medical Video: I smell dead people Psychic claims she senses when people are close to dying - but can't save them
The human sense of smell is an amazing system. In good health, humans can smell up to about one trillion different types of smells. However, there are also people who can't smell anything or can only smell certain types of aroma.
A study in the United States revealed that people who lose their sense of smell are more at risk of death within five years. Is that right? Find out the full explanation below.
Why can someone lose the sense of smell?
The loss of the sense of smell is fully known as anosmia. To understand how anosmia can occur, you must first know how humans can smell. The things around you will release certain molecules which are then captured by nerve cells in the nose. The nerve cell then sends a special signal to the brain. It is the brain that will recognize the smells that you smell.
Any interference that occurs in the olfactory process will cause anosmia. The trigger can be various. Starting from allergies, sinusitis infections, nose or head injuries, aging, to disability or certain chronic diseases.
What does it mean if someone can't smell?
According to a study by a team of experts from the University of Chicago in the United States, people who can't smell smell are more likely to die faster. The study, published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS) One journal, looked at more than 3,000 elderly participants from 2005 to 2011. From these scientific observations, it was found that people who lost their sense of smell were four times more likely to die within five years.
A total of 39 percent of elderly participants who were unable to smell died within five years after they were first asked to undergo a sense of smell test. The number of elderly people whose olfactory acuity has begun to diminish and then die within five years is 19 percent. While there are only 10 percent of the elderly with a healthy and normal sense of smell who dies within five years.
Another study in the journal Annals of Neurology in 2008 also found that adults who could not smell more vulnerable to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. From the various results of these studies, it can be concluded that losing the sense of smell is not a symptom of health that can be underestimated.
How is the sense of smell related to human age?
According to experts, losing the sense of smell cannot cause death. This only indicates symptoms of health problems that might shorten a person's age.
Your sense of smell is regulated by nerve cells located in the central nervous system. These cells should be able to renew themselves (regeneration) continuously. If you can't kiss, your cells can't regenerate anymore. This means that there is serious damage to your nervous system.
That's why losing the sense of smell, especially in the elderly, might indicate that your body can't fight cell damage and improve itself again. So, if you start to find it hard to recognize or smell, there's nothing wrong with checking your doctor right away.
