Smell loss endangers lives but doctors don't take it seriously, say experts
Smell loss is endangering lives but doctors do not take it seriously, researchers have found.
A new study from the University of East Anglia has discovered that people with anosmia suffer a huge range of emotional and physical implications.
Many sink into deep depressions because they can no longer enjoy freshly cut grass, baked bread, childhood memories, or the scent of loved ones.
For others the condition could prove deadly, because they are unable to pick up the odour of gas, smoke or rotten food.
Researchers surveyed 71 anonymous people suffering from chronic smell loss to find out about their experiences. One woman claimed the condition had broken up her marriage.
“I am sure there was an impact on sex, and being close to my husband,” she said. “Although our marriage was already in difficulty, I believe anosmia helped end it.”
Another mother wrote, “The thought of not smelling my children again is too distressing to accept.”
And one sufferer described the experience as like bereavement, saying she felt she was ‘living in a world behind glass.’
The researchers hope that their findings will encourage doctors to take smell problems more seriously, offering more support to patients.
Prof Carl Philpott, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “One really big problem was around hazard perception – not being able to smell food that had gone off, or not being able to smell gas or smoke. This had resulted in serious near misses for some.
“But smell is not just a life-saving sense – it is also life-enhancing. Participants had lost interest in preparing food and some said they were too embarrassed to serve dishes to family and friends which had an impact on their social lives.
“The inability to link smells to happy memories was also a problem. Bonfire night, Christmas smells, perfumes and people – all gone. Smells link us to people, places and emotional experiences. And people who have lost their sense of smell miss out on all those memories that smell can evoke.”
The researchers worked with the Smell and Taste clinic at the James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston-On-Sea. The clinic opened in 2010 and was the UK’s first clinic dedicated to taste and smell.
The study involved 71 participants aged between 31-80 who had written to the clinic about their experiences. It was carried out in collaboration with Fifth Sense, the charity for people affected by smell and taste disorders.
Prof Philpot added: “Smell disorders affect around five per cent of the population and cause people to lose their sense of smell, or change the way they perceive odours. Some people perceive smells that aren’t there at all.
“There are many causes – from infections and injury to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and as a side effect of some medications.
“Most patients suffer a loss of flavour perception which can affect appetite and can be made even worse if distortions in their sense of smell also co-exist.”
Duncan Boak, Founder and Chair of Fifth Sense, said: “Anosmia can have a huge impact on people’s quality of life in many ways, as this research demonstrates.”
The research was published in the journal Clinical Otolaryngology.
