All I can smell is smoke…

[FG19473]

It’s almost a cigarette smoke smell, though not as harsh. I could smell it downstairs and now upstairs. I’ve been able to smell it all day.
My partner can’t smell it at all. I’ve asked a friend who lives nearby if they can smell it and they’ve said they can’t.

Could it be Phantosmia?! I’ve experienced it before, a few months ago and again, no one else could smell it. No one in my house smokes, neighbours on either side as far as I’m aware do not smoke (even then, it wouldn’t be all day and surely it would be more frequent) I’ve not turned anything on today that could be causing the smell. It’s actually making me feel dizzy and sick 😷

Can you pinpoint if it's cigarette smoke?
Are you semi detached or terraced?

I know when my neighbour s are up in the morning. When I go upstairs I can smell their cigarette smoke and realised it must be travelling through their own air bricks and back through my own (all windows in both houses double glazed and closed) 😕

I have this, Ive had it for decades, long before people were blaming covid for things. Ive never had it checked out, its just one of those quirks of mine. Its absolutely horrible. I also lose my smell and taste for weeks on end quite unpredictably.

OP I came across this blog dedicated to this type of smell disorder:

https://helvella.blogspot.com/p/helvella-phantosmia-or-phantom-smells.html

Perhaps you will find some useful info in there.

Well I’ve woke up this morning and the smell (for now) is gone.

My nose is also completely blocked which isn’t unusual for me. But at least, as much as I can breathe, it’s not smokey 🤣

I've suffered from this for over 20 years. An intense stench of cigarette smoke inside my nostrils that comes and goes. It can last for for weeks, or just a few hours and I can go months without having an episode. I have never smoked and don't live with anyone that smokes.

About 6 years ago I went to my GP and was referred to ENT. A nasal endoscopy ruled out sinus issues.

I also had a CT scan, MRI scans and EEG tests. They were investigating possible epilepsy or aura migraines I believe, though my only symptom was the smell of cigarette smoke.

They found absolutely no explanation for the smell but told me I had two benign brain tumours. These are not the cause of the smell, nothing to worry about and have no symptoms but I almost wish I hadn't bothered going to the GP as I'm none the wiser about the smell and wish I didn't know about the tumours as they'll cause me no harm.

I sometimes think the smell comes when I'm more stressed than usual. It's unpleasant but I've got used to it. I hope you don't get too many episodes.

We had this years ago - new build house, both non-smokers and could smell smoke when we'd been out all day.

Turns out my younger sister had been pinching the spare key off my parents and coming to our house! Cheeky bugger!

On the other hand, what you're describing sounds like it could be due to nasal infection. I start smelling mould everywhere when I'm coming down with a heavy cold/sinusitis.

100% sinusitis. I had this about 10 years ago and now get it on and off whenever I’m run down. ♥️

I get this as well but only if I'm sat still and I have a slightly blocked or runny nose. It's not a strong smell- more like when you know someone is burning something in close proximity without actually seeing anything burning. It's been annoying me on and off for quite a few years now and given some of the comments on here I'm trying to remember whether it started before or after I first got covid. In hindsight, probably after but I'm not 100% sure. Whenever it happens I just breathe strongly and quickly inwards through my nostrils and it clears it.

Maybe you should do a Covid test. The first and only time I had Covid was- this was one of the first obvious symptoms. I was on holiday and woke every morning to a strong smell of burning (mine was almost like hair or plastic burning). It passed but I think it was definitely Covid.

I had this after my first bout of Covid. I lost my sense of smell completely but could 'smell' this weird mild cigarette smoke with the slightest hit of orange or citrus. None of us smoke and it didn't make sense because I couldn't smell a thing with my nose but I could 'in my head' if that makes sense.

I did some 'smell training' (advised by the NHS) and after about 2 months my nose smell came back and the 'head smell' disappeared.

Ignore my latest update… cleared my nose and the smell is back 😫

It had better not be Covid as I go on holiday next week!!

Also I would add that at times it was so strong, I felt sick too! I woke up in the middle of the night once and did a search through the house to check nothing was actually burning. I was so convinced at one point, I did a reset of the house smoke detectors (which are normally ridiculously hyper-sensitive) just to reassure myself.

As for you, even if you don't have Covid now, you might have had a very mild case and not known it. This weird smell thing for me happened after Covid but I barely knew I had it. I had a slightly bunged up nose and I would not have even checked except I was going to see a CEV relative and I wanted to make sure. I was really surprised when the two red lines popped up as I didn't feel ill at all.

I have this, it's a known version of migraine. I get it without the accompanying headache. It can be distressing because you're on alert for the source of the smell. It goes eventually though