I can't smell

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I have serious sensory integration dysfunction regarding the sense of smell. I can't smell a lot of things, including gasoline, cigarette smoke, bleach, allegedly strong perfume, urine, sweat, food, and soap. However, I can smell water and tell the difference between naturally and artificially heated air (central heating smells bad).

I know I have a strong sense of smell because I have a strong sense of taste. I just think few of those signals actually reach my brain intact.

water doesn't have any smell

Water can smell!! I know what you mean Pickwickian!!

I think the worst smell is ants... we used to get a lot in our house and I could always tell where they were in the walls by their smell. Yuck.


I have a really crap sense of taste/smell since I had the flu a few months back. I'm slowly getting it back now though - drinking apple cider vinegar helps enormously (a mouthful of it neat about 6 times a day, followed by a glass of water 2mins later for the taste/rinse the acid from your teeth).

Lies.

our water smells, but it's the minerals in the water.
elaphents can smell water from 1 mile away. no lies

Zinc deficiency can cause "problems with the sense of smell."
From MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 002416.htm

One study found that zinc deficiency is common in people diagnosed with autism. I have problems with smell and need to take zinc supplements even though my diet contains plenty of zinc.

I have a big issue with sense of smell, always have. Interesting, that thing about the zinc. I will try zinc supplements.

Of course, I've always said, if you're gonna have a sensory deficit, smell is the one to have.

I noticed a severe loss of the ability to smell, when I had the flu, The Christmas before last. It comes and goes, which is really weird. I will suddenly notice that my cat has visited the litter box recently, and yet other times she will go and I smell nothing.

Sounds like me. Taste is often nothing too.

My osteopath is helping fix it though slowly, he says it's related to the sinuses not working properly; that they're still kinda 'stuck' closed instead of open properly so there's gunk that isn't draining and is blocking off the smell/taste areas (not a very scientific explanation, but the easiest way to describe it I think). It's working bit by bit - I'd recommend finding a good cranial osteopath and seeing if they can help you too?

MissPickwickian,

Very normal, I do not see why anyone would want to smell those other things.

Air, water, and fire, perhaps Chocolate, are enough.

Like remembering faces, sports scores, and other useless data, some things should be filtered out as mear annoyance.

It is always best to be yourself, but often one should not mention such things to the wrong type of people.

The background smells vanish, but a new smell, something out of the ordinary, comes through.

I live near a busy highway, most of the time I do not hear it.

In my case, I've never thought of this as a sensory integration thing, but I guess it might be. And it might be important: The only thing I've noticed is that I'm usually unable to smell alcohol, though I can taste it. I was once handed a bottle of vodka that was supposed to smell terrible, and I took a good whiff but smelled nothing. I can smell some other drinks, but I don't think it's the alcohol I'm smelling.

I didn't become able to smell it until I started drinking it, and I still usually can't smell anything. Sometimes people will comment about how someone reeks of alcohol. They act like it's really strong, but I never notice.

I have the same problems. Just messed up wiring. I can smell the strangest things NTs never smell and can't smell most food or cigarette smoke. Perfume overwhelms me immediately. It's all messed up.

I am hypersensitive to a LOT of smells...thank goodness that you don't have that problem atleast.
I smell EVERYTHING! I can smell the computer when it is switched off, can smell plastic, can smell some types of clothing....
I tend to avoid food with a lot of smell as it just completely puts me off from eating it otherwise.

I love the convenience of a slow cooker, but I hate the way the smell permeates my entire house and then takes forever to disappear. Even if it's a good smell, I get overwhelmed.

Lekiwi, I think I'll take your advice about a cranial osteopath. I've also been getting severe headaches that last three days, and seem to originate at the base of my neck.

Sometimes I can't smell things either when everyone else can. Then I could smell it later all of a sudden because it finally got to my brain.
But there are smells that don't bother me but bother lot of people such as sunk smell, gasoline, permanent marker, cleaning stuff teachers use on the board.


I thought everyone can smell Plastic Britney. I love the smell of new stuff that came out of plastic containers or bags.


Yes some water has taste. Minerals in the water from the pipe can puts taste to it so that's why there are filters that go on your kitchen faucet. My ex boyfriend hated the water at his friend's house because it tastes so bad it makes him puke if he drinks it. He also didn't want to drink the water at my house either because he was afraid it taste bad but he said it tastes different than his friend's water.

I hated sink water as a kid so I only would drink water from the fridge and then when we moved to Montana, we had no pipe that connected to the fridge due to the age of the house so we had no ice or water so what happened with me, I got constipated a lot due to lack of water. It could have also been the depression that caused it and due to all the change that happened in my life after we moved. It was a lot of changes so it might have been the reason for my constant constipation. My dad always had to buy water from the store so I could drink it.