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?!

@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.

All of the kids can do this in key stage 1!

I’ve got w rubbish sense of smell, and I’m rubbish at recognising something I do smell. I can still do the jumper thing though, and remember it vividly from school

Both me and my son have hearing difficulties.
We can smell things that nobody else in the family can!

I was like this but lost my smell due to covid 18 months ago. I miss it soooooooo much.

My sister was like this when she was younger. Not sure if she still is, she's 45! I must ask her. She could run her fingers through your hair and tell you what you'd eaten for lunch. She got so obsessed with smelling her own hair at one point, she pulled it out .

Me! I'm also a super taster ..... I can tell when I different type of oil has been used for example.

I've also got really good hearing.

I caught my dd sniffing someone's jumper in public..
We were in a pub and dd was 30!!

Yeah mine does.

And sense of hearing.

He has asd and it's part of the sensory side of it.

I'm always sniffing things. Dcat smells particularly delightful. Late ddog just smelled like dog, though. I can't tell a jumper's owner by its scent!

It's common in young children, but I think we train it out of them. We're oddly coy about smell in the UK. It's also common in ASD, but not exclusively.

One of my DC had this to the extent that I could never expect them to put anything in a bin because they would gag or vomit from the smell of being too close to a bin. Another DC won't eat food with "flavour" because it's too strong for them (can only eat very bland food and would rather starve than eat anything with a strong taste).

Could well lead to a job in tasting tea/wine/chocolate etc or a chef or perfumier if it continues.

My son kept holding his nose whilst drinking from his water bottle. We worked out it was the rubber ring around the lid.
Also I love it when he wrinkles his nose and says 'Mummy, you smell!' (It's usually my soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste) 🙂

@Wombat96

Some smells can make me sick.

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

Wombat I find this really interesting because I am the same with smells and being sensitive to clothes (and jewellery).

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of neurodivergency do you have? And if you do mind me asking, please ignore, and apologies!

Another DC won't eat food with "flavour" because it's too strong for them (can only eat very bland food and would rather starve than eat anything with a strong taste).

Sounds like ARFID. I'm the same and it seems to go hand in hand with being sensitive to smells.

To be fair I can smell all those things. They're all smelly things with distinct smells. And plastic that's had squash on never gets rid of the orange unless

I feel for him, what a horrible world it is if you can smell everything!

And I could definitely tell my friends clothes apart. Still can. I can vividly recall my childhood best friends smell.

Doesn't cause me any issues bar cups can smell minging.

Yes, I can smell things good and bad (to my nose) and others can not smell at all. I have been led to believe it is phantosmia, but sometimes others detect it too. Rarely.

I can smell when a child is poorly and milk going off and gas leaks that are very faint.

I can smell different people and sometimes it is pleasant and other times it isn't. (Their personal smell - not BO or bad breath) although I can smell that too and it can cause a migraine along with cigarette smoke.

I'm a dream to socialise with

Here too! I'm like a bloodhound, sniffing out the faintest hint of damp in the house, whiffy cloths and dirty socks left stuffed down the side of the sofa. I can also tell when one of kids is coming down with something too.

Different aromas are inextricably linked to memories for me - perfume, shower gel, flowers, even washing powder. One whiff and I'm back there.

I can also taste sweetener in drinks ... and I hate it! There is an immediate hit of sweetness, but then my mouth is coated with a cloying bitterness which is just horrible. I don't drink much in the way of soft drinks but, when I do, it's full fat all the way.