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General health

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Original poster

Anosmics over here!

11 replies

Zwitterion · 03/08/2011 21:02

Was driving home today in my slightly dodgy car and pondering that I wouldn't know if the engine was overheating.

And that got me thinking about food burning, not being able to tell when DD needs changing etc. And then I thought that maybe there were other anosmic MNs around to swap stories/worries with.

Fingers crossed.....

OP posts:

Paschaelina · 03/08/2011 21:06

Me me me!

DH was afraid of connecting our new gas hob up as he thinks I won't notice if its left on and not lit I can't tell when the Boy's nappy needs changing either. I don't wear perfume, can't tell the difference on or off. I only know when DH has aftershave on if he tells me. I only know if the cat has crapped in the house when I stand in it .

On and on, the list is endless...

Original poster

Zwitterion · 03/08/2011 21:26

Hello!

I was freaking out over a thread the other day in S & B, discussing deodorant and starting to smell half way through the day. Yikes! I'm pretty hot on hygiene and clothes washing, and get DH to check before I leave the house, but starting to smell a few hours later and not knowing about it......gah!

OP posts:

ReadyToDrink · 03/08/2011 21:27

Meeeee!

The New Baby Smell :(

Paschaelina · 03/08/2011 21:34

Oh yes New Baby Smell. Never known it. I dont think i smell...

ReadyToDrink · 03/08/2011 21:45

I know what you mean about the sweaty paranoia. My (younger) sister still responds to me shouting 'NOSE!', which meant that she had to drop everything to come & sniff me / my clothes at any given moment It's so difficult sorting out laundry if you've only worn something for an hour, or if it's from a pile of other people's mess - you don't know if it needs washing or not so you have to do err on the side of caution, which makes more work.

The one that really worries me more than is just an inconvenience is food - whether or not it's safe to eat, or if it's gone off. I used to be a vegetarian & it was less of an issue, but now it's hard to be sure with meat & fish. & one of the biggest arguments I've ever had with my best friend was when she left the milk out on holiday & refused to sniff it for me before I put it on my breakfast, because it 'might smell nasty' & that would be terrible for her (In her defence, we were 16, but FGS...)

Paschaelina · 03/08/2011 21:48

I just eat it. Have developed a cast iron stomach in consequence

ReadyToDrink · 03/08/2011 22:31

Haha, I'm too much of a wimp. Not so much about the food, but dealing with a poorly 2 year old

Original poster

Zwitterion · 04/08/2011 07:40

Sorry folks - started a thread and then had to go. Bad form!

Yes food can be a nightmare can't it. I have been known to drink sell by date milk to see whether it's off or not....

Fish and meat I don't take a gamble with though.

I'm always a bit sad reading fish recipes which say 'go for super fresh, non fishy smelling fish'. Then get paranoid that the fishmonger has palmed me off with the dodgy stuff.

Can I be nosy and ask if you lost your sense of smell or if it's congenital?

My grandad couldn't smell, but swears his returned at 60. My mum was born with hers, but lost gradually in her 30s. I've never been able to, but perhaps one day I'll really wake up and smell the coffee.

OP posts:

Paschaelina · 04/08/2011 07:57

I lost mine gradually over my twenties, not helped by long-term use of prescribed steroid nasal spray for perennial rhinitis. Now I'm feeding my son so no sprays but sense of smell has never returned.

ReadyToDrink · 04/08/2011 08:48

Oh yes, I hate that moment where you test the potentially dodgy milk, not knowing what it'll be like. I always imagine it to taste a bit funny out of paranoia though!

That's another thing - taste! How are you with textures & strong flavours? I'm better than I used to be with 'ignoring' textures - for a long time I could only eat very plain or dry foods. Things like cooked mushroom were too slimy to be a possibility (I actually really like mushroom now, but still can't stand leeks, or cooked onion, for example). & I can't deal with very spicy food, because it just feels like burning rather than tasting of much. & I find sweet & sour very difficult, because I can taste the sweet & taste the sour - separately! It's disconcerting.

As far as I know, I've never been able to smell. There's a slight question mark over a time I fell down some steps & bumped my nose when I was about 2, but there wasn't any sign of me smelling before then - my 2 year old has always reacted to smells, even when he was a newborn in Mothercare's changing room & now he tells me when things 'smell like poo' - when it suits! My parents first started to realise when I was a bit older & we'd drive through rural areas & they'd talk to me about the smell of manure & I'd sit there confused & oblivious! (This last paragraph is a lot about poo, I'm sorry! Too much time with a little boy! )

Paschaelina · 04/08/2011 09:33

I do remember smells. My school had a farm and I certainly remember the farmyard smell then. I'm a bit when my mum mentions the milky-poo smell (which we've moved on from now) and also milky-puke smell, which I can say I've never come across.

I can't tell when I cook fish or garlic if it's really offensive. I like stronger curries than my DH, its like I can't taste as well if I can't smell it.

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