Contents:
- Medical Video: 8 Amazing Home Remedies For Loss Of Smell
- Get to know hyposmia, when the nose is hard to smell anything
- The cause of some people having difficulty smelling
- 1. Age
- 2. Allergy and infection
- 3. Nasal polyps
- 4. Take certain medicines
- 5. Head injury
- 6. Certain diseases
- How do you deal with hyposmia?
Medical Video: 8 Amazing Home Remedies For Loss Of Smell
Some people or maybe you tend to have a sharper sense of smell, making it more sensitive to smell. However, there are some other people who actually experience the opposite, which is difficult to smell anything that is around it. In medical terms, this is called hyposmia. So, what causes hyposmia? Check out the information below, yes.
Get to know hyposmia, when the nose is hard to smell anything
The objects around you will release certain odor 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.
That is why people whose sense of smell is normal should be able to breathe the various scents that are around it. Whether it's the smell of food, the stench of garbage, the pungent smell of chemicals, and other types of smell.
Hyposmia is the loss of some ability in the sense of smell to feel odor. The decrease in the ability to smell doesn't mean that you have a nose problem, you know. However, this can also be an impact of the body's brain and nervous system disorders, especially the olfactory nerves. As a result, your sense of smell becomes less sensitive to the smell that exists.
The cause of some people having difficulty smelling
If you can smell smelly or bad smell easily beforehand, this change will make you uncomfortable. You find it difficult to smell the appetizing food, so your appetite also decreases.
Hyposmia is generally caused by a decrease in nerve function in the nose, but this can also be due to other medical problems that need to be watched out. Various causes of someone having a hard time smelling are:
1. Age
Age is the most common cause of hyposmia. According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, the sense of smell is very sensitive when you are 30 and 60 years old, as reported by Medical News Today.
More than that age, the ability of the sense of smell will gradually decrease and make it difficult for you to smell various smells. In fact, about 39 percent of people aged 80 years and over tend to experience hyposmia.
2. Allergy and infection
People who experience allergies or infectious diseases such as flu and colds tend to be less sensitive to smell. But calm down first, this will usually return to normal soon after you take cold medicine and recover.
Chronic sinus can also have the same effect. The reason is, when the cavity around the nasal passages (sinuses) are inflamed and swollen for more than 12 weeks, inflammation that occurs can damage certain cells that allow a person to smell. That is why people with chronic sinuses tend to be difficult to smell certain scents.
3. Nasal polyps
Meat that grows in the nose or nasal polyps can be the cause of hyposmia that you experience. Most people who have it do not feel any symptoms and signs. However, one can detect it by decreasing the ability to smell around.
4. Take certain medicines
If you feel you are no longer sensitive to smell, try to pay attention to the type of medication you are taking. Yes, certain types of drugs can make your sense of smell less sensitive. Example:
- Antibiotics, such as ampicillin and tetracycline
- Antidepressants, like amitriptyline
- Antihistamines, such as loratadine
5. Head injury
Head injuries not only provide side effects of dizziness and headaches, but can also make you experience hyposmia. This can affect the nasal nervous system and interfere with the sense of smell, although it tends to be neither permanent nor dangerous.
6. Certain diseases
Troubled nerve conditions can cause the nose to lose the ability to smell the aroma. This can be caused by several diseases which include:
- Parkinson's disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Alzheimer's disease
- Obesity
- Type 1 diabetes
- Hypertension
- Malnutrition
Multiple sclerosis, for example, is often associated with hyposmia. A study found that there were 40 percent of patients with multiple sclerosis experiencing a loss of some of their sense of smell. The greater the level of disability due to multiple sclerosis, the more difficult it is for someone to smell the aroma around it.
Whereas in diabetics, several studies have found that people with type 1 diabetes tend to have difficulty distinguishing inhaled aromas. This is caused by nerve damage to peripheral neuropathy, so that the sense of smell becomes problematic.
How do you deal with hyposmia?
Handling of hyposmia varies depending on the cause itself. If hyposmia is caused by an allergic reaction or flu, then you really do not need special care because it will return to normal by taking flu medication or other antihistamines.
However, if hyposmia is caused by a number of chronic diseases that have been mentioned, the treatment is adjusted to the type of disease. Your sense of smell will usually improve after the start of treatment.
