phantom smell - driving me crazy

[taniaaust1]

I have Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) . With this condition once you become sensitized to a chemical.. you can usually smell it even when others cant. I can be over powered by the things Im sensitive to.. when others may not notice them at all.

eg I went to visit a friend, Peter, several weeks ago who works in a big shed/warehouse. And on entering his very big warehouse, was over powered with the smell of fly spray. The strongest area being by his desk. It was hard for me to ignore and making me feel quite uncomfortable and affecting my head some.

Another friend was there too..so i queried that one if he could smell fly spray.. he said no and that none had been sprayed while he was there (past couple of hrs).

On further querying thou. I finally found out that the desk had been sprayed a little as some ants were on it, 3-4 hrs before I arrived.

Im a little sensitive to cigarette smoke too.. even outside with wind blowing away from me, it still affects me if someone is smoking within 10 metres of me.

Most deorderants.. even if someone uses them on other side of my house with door shut. I will know the moment one is used.. as im highly sensitive to them and they make me ill (and overpower with smell), so i cant have any of them in the house now. (along with other perfumes.. even perfumed washing powder, i cant have in my house now)
...............

If it is MCS.. i advise you to cut back on the chemicals you are using as once one starts getting sensitized to things.. further sensitivities to other things may quickly develop and once a sensitivity develops.. they can be hard to get rid of.

(Ive found COMPLETE AVOIDANCE of that chemical and any others one is sensitive too, for 3-6 mths..sometimes will get rid of the sensitivity. But if you've sprayed in your house.. you will not be able to get rid of the exposure except by moving.).

[joh4275]

this is a yeast infection the smell is coming from your nose.its called leaky gut syndrome. it is caused by candida glabrata its harder to treat than regular yeast.

[sinus]

check for a sinus infection. You may smelling your own infection in your nose.
I had that - it drove me crazy - was treated for a sinus inflection and it went away.

[chromegirl666]

The can said to watch for neurological symptoms? Did you know that smell is one of the strongest parts of our memories? Poking at the right spots of the brain can cause the body to think its smelling something that it isn't. Could the phantom smell be a neurological symptom maybe? I think you can actually call poison control and tell them what you sprayed and they should be able to tell you if its related to your phantom smell. They would be much more familiar with that than a general practicioner.

[acuann]

this is a yeast infection the smell is coming from your nose.its called leaky gut syndrome. it is caused by candida glabrata its harder to treat than regular yeast.

Yes, I agree with this. Leaky gut/candida overload can cause these symptoms, including sinusitis.

Research candida and sinsusitis and cleanses...Threelac can kill candida overgrowth. So can a lot of other cleanses.

Make sure you had a fasting blood glucose test as well, not just a regular blood test for diabetes, which is less accurate.

Best wishes
DOM

[pajplak]

I am looking for info about this for my daughter. Is it related to headaches? this seems to be sudden onset combined twith the headaches.,And tylenol does nothing for her......help

[mariaofcolumbia]

I've been having that same sort of phantom burnt sugar sort of smell going on for a while. At first, it seemed to be related to when I ate something sweet- I'd smell the smell an hour or so later.

After a while, though, I realized it wasn't that simple- it was only when I ate something that had high fructose corn syrup in it that the smell returns. I'm experimenting now with eating food and drink sweetened only with sugar (hard to do!) and finding that the phantom smell has not returned.

I don't know the hows or whys- but that's what I know so far.

[BlueLotus27]

I have no sinus problems, no allergies, do not work around chemicals...housewife...no cleaning products I haven't used all my life. Age 56. In the summer of '04 I began having a smell like that of strong exhaust fumes. It wakes me up at night...can't get rid of it. It doesn't affect my taste. It sometimes is so strong as to burn my throat and sinuses and makes my eyes burn. No one else smells it. I don't smell it on my clothing or skin, hair, etc. It comes and goes. Sometimes nothing for months then for weeks it's present. Sometimes only a few days. This time it's been here for the past 10 or 12 days and isn't dissipating. I hate it! I can still smell other things like food or perfume and if I breathe through a cloth I don't smell it...like if I put my pajama top over my nose. And once I take the fabric away it takes about 15 seconds before it returns. HELP! O.o

[rad-skw]

To Blue Lotus especially. Get a carbon monoxide alarm for your house and see if you are smelling exhaust from your furnace. This can be deadly.

[BlueLotus27]

Thank you for answering but I have had the fire dept out here twice in the last few years...have a detector...nothing. So I know it isn't that. Still a dead end. I did read on another medical site that it could be indicative of a brain tumor... O.o... so I'm heading back to the doctor next week! If that's ruled out I haven't a clue where to turn. Please, people, keep giving me ideas! Thank you all very much!