Child with ridiculously sensitive sense of smell!

[zippidydooday]

Does anyone else's child have a super sensitive sense of smell?
He regularly sniffs things as they seem to comfort him. He gets his teddies and sniffs them all over.
If I've hoovered at 9am then he'll know when he gets home at 3pm as he can smell the hoover (even when it was brand new) and he mentions he can smell Hoover.
He complains his drinks bottles smell of orange squash even after they've been through the dishwasher.
The dog went on his bed for 2 minutes when he was at school and when he got home he was shouting that his whole bedroom smelt of dog (she's not a smelly dog, she's bathed every week!) but obviously she has an aroma!
He moans he can smell the dishcloth from the other side of the kitchen, and when you cuddle him after school at 3pm he can smell what you've had for lunch!
When he's eating breakfast we have to put the dog bowls outside as he can smell her dry kibble that was previously in her bowl.
He's 5 and has always had the strange superpower.
Anyone else?!

I feel for him, I have a ridiculous sense of smell. I can smell when the heating is on for example. It’s a bit of a nightmare at times as I can’t deal with people who don’t smell nice
Apparently I am also a super taster and can’t eat pine nuts for example because they are so bitter, I also find things taste “off” before anyone else.

I have a very sensitive sense of smell, but it varies a lot during my cycle - it’s especially acute before my period and around ovulation. Apparently women tend to have better senses of smell in general - a friend who is a master of wine tells me women often make better wine tasters because of this! (I can smell when a wine is corked instantly without ever needing to taste it - a useful skill in upmarket restaurants when you want to look suave…)

DD is similar (though doesn’t sound quite as sensitive as the OP’s DC). She hates being sat next to some children at school as she doesn’t like their smell. Conversely when she wants comfort she will sit next to me and sniff me, which is a bit tooth-gritting!

Mine is sensitive too, am loving that Covid has partly killed it!

Whenever we have a big family meal ds checks first who is having squash, would anyone be having mint sauce?
He does love sniffing our ddogs thankfully!!
He absolutely loves clean bedding!!

I'm a bit like this.

When I was pregnant, it heightened my smell even more, I couldn't leave the bed, Everything stank and made me vomit. It was horrific. The smell of the supermarket for example 🤮

Dd11 has always been very sensitive to smell. She will smell anything before eating it which is highly embarrassing if it’s at someone’s house.

When she was younger she was very vocal if she could smell something if we were visiting people. I once took her to lush when she about 6 and she wouldn’t stay in the shop because it ‘smelt’. I had to get dh to look after her whilst I finished shopping.

Some smells can make me sick.

I'm neurodivergent, so apparently that's common, along with sensitively to clothes, etc.

This is me

I have sensory processing disorder which can present as sensory seeking so sometimes I crave the snell of certain stuff and also sensory avoiding. I hate the smell of tomatoes, can smell milk on the turn and when a banana becomes ripe.

DD is very sensitive to the smell of bonfires and can smell them before anyone else can. DS can smell out the smells of people.

I on the other hand have a terrible sense of smell and am always the last to smell anything.

@nc4565

I'm a bit like this.

When I was pregnant, it heightened my smell even more, I couldn't leave the bed, Everything stank and made me vomit. It was horrific. The smell of the supermarket for example 🤮

Oh god yes mine was awful in pregnancy. I once walked past a cafe and threw up on the pavement as the smell of grease was so horrific.

Ds is like this. He has ASD. Cooking smells, air freshener, his brother - all smell.

I hadn't realised how much batch cooking (or indeed cleaning) I did until lockdown when I had to do it when he was in the house and O.M.G the whinging. He's adapting though, last night I cooked something that he said made the house smell like plastic and after he ate it all, he said it was "surprisingly nice."

I'm like this and so is my son, my son has ASD. I can tell if someone wearing perfume has cuddled my child and I hate it. I can smell who different items belong to. Once I accused my DH of smoking, he hadn't been smoking but he had been speaking to a neighbour who is a heavy smoker, and had picked up their scent!

@nc4565

I'm a bit like this.

When I was pregnant, it heightened my smell even more, I couldn't leave the bed, Everything stank and made me vomit. It was horrific. The smell of the supermarket for example 🤮

I was like that. I had to take a detour to avoid passing the fishmongers on the High Street. My friend's perfume made me retch and I couldn't stand the smell of food cooking.

I'm glad he's not the only one. It's made me feel a bit better!
And yes he also smells things before he eats them!
He'll open sandwiches and sniff them in particular! Along with new foods. They get the sniff test too!

My sense of smell went mad in my first pregnancy and often tripped my gag reaction. Driving past a landfill site in a heatwave was interesting... I perfected shutting down the air circulation, taking a deep breath, jamming my foot on the accelerator and finally getting a safe distance and opening the windows before breathing again. It was that or violently dry gag for the next few minutes.

I used to find it weird when DS came home from nursery and smelt all wrong

I'm not as sensitive as DS (ASD/ SPD)

This is me!
Wet cloths - not even dirty ones. Anything damp or mouldy. Food about to go off but not quite.
I defo say 'whats that smell?' when noone else can smell it, a lot!

@QuentinBunbury

Oh, also same DS finds his school jumper out of a pile at school by sniffing them . He can also give them out to his friends that way. Weirdo.

That appears to be the normal way for children to tell their jumpers apart - I've seen children pick out jumpers belonging to various classmates loads of times like that. It's the first thing they will do when asked whose jumper it is!

Dogs don't need bathing every week. She probably smells more than if she wasn't bathed every week

This is me too.

I can smell when DH is using different coffee beans from up in our bedroom.

My daughter has such a keen sense of smell it's scary .....

@TheGrumpyGoat

My friend’s daughter is like this. Causes her all sorts of embarrassment! She won’t let my friend near her in the morning until she’s showered and brushed her teeth.

Sounds like that child needs some serious discipline!!!

DelphiniumBlue There was a nursery nurse at DC's nursery who would go through the random socks left around the room at the end of the day, give a sniff and give them back.

@zippidydooday It does sound a lot like autism. Particularly with his reaction. Does he insist on routines? Any other autism traits?

Nope, no autism traits. He's been in childcare the last few years and no one has ever mentioned anything!
He's honestly a dream! Bar the strong sense of smell!!!

At least no traits I've ever noticed!
He plays football twice a week, does gymnastics. Lots of friends. Speech delay from glue ear, but that's improving!
Sleeps 7-7, not a fussy eater.
Fine with change of routine. Not sensitive to sounds or touch.
Just hates some smells!!!