Shit… this is bad isn’t it?

[AJT43]

A few months ago I smelt burning on and off for a few days; I was about to see the GP about it and it just stopped.
Fast forward I’ve had it a few times since but it passed quickly.
The last 3 or so days I’ve been smelling burning and foul smells on and off. Then this morning I woke up with a terrible headache at the back of my head.
I plan on calling the GP first thing on Monday morning but I am honestly so scared. Google tells me the bleakest thing. I’m 31 years old with 2 small children and I’m just terrified.

I suffer from this too! I had everything checked out at GP and then hospital and they found nothing. I too was worried about a brain tumour. They seem to think it’s something to do with my sinuses. It comes and goes, sometime not bothering me for 6 months and then I might get it for a day or too. Longest I’ve had it is 9 days which was pretty awful. For me it’s cigarette smoke that I smell. Stress seems to be a big trigger for me.

Mine was caused by a schwannoma in my sinus cavity. Get checked but try not to panic too much in the meantime.

I did too. Kept asking family who was burning toast only to be told I was imagining it. Lasted weeks..

OP, please don’t take this to mean I think you have this but.. brain tumours are not very rare! I know someone who had one and she never had a burning smell btw.

Phantosmia - my sister and daughter both had it. Theirs was the foul smell, not the burning. It disappeared after a few months.

I’ve been experiencing smell of burnt toast for last few days, it’s driving me nuts. Someone up thread mentioned getting it before their period so not sure if it’s because of this, but I get the worry. My DS asked me if I was about to have a stroke

I can definitely vouch for Covid or a similar strain of some virus, when Covid first came out about 5 years ago I caught it and all I could smell was ‘sewerage drain on a hot day’ it’s got to be linked. I honestly don’t think you need to worry about anything serious

When I get migraines often the aura preceding them are olfactory hallucinations like smelling gas or burning. The painful headaches can come days if not weeks later.

Usually the longer the aura, the more painful the migraine though, but fortunately not a death sentence.

Smelling burning or strange smells—what’s called phantosmia—can be caused by all kinds of things, and most of them aren’t serious. Things like sinus infections, migraines, stress, tiredness, or even minor viral illnesses can all play a part. The headache could be linked too—especially if it's at the back of your head and you're tense or sleep-deprived (which, with two little ones, wouldn’t be surprising at all).

What you’re describing isn’t uncommon, and the fact that it’s been coming and going for a while, and not rapidly worsening, is actually a reassuring sign. It’s good that you’ve noticed a pattern and are seeking help—your GP will be able to ask the right questions, maybe order bloods and a CT brain scan, and help you get to the bottom of it.

I kept smelling gas, turns out it was an ulcer in my nose.

I had this 2 years ago following Covid
It lasted around 6 months then one day I realised I wasn’t smelling all these odd things
Of course get it checked out if you’re worried but I’ll bet it’s nothing sinister x

No, it probably isn't. Stop Googling. Stay away from this thread. Go see the GP as planned next week, and in the interim, try not to dwell on this.

Sending all good wishes

just to check - any chance your pregnant? I had awful sudden headaches and sensitive sense of smell with one of my pregnancies.

I have a swelling on the ankle that NHS have not diagnosed despite MRI and ultrasound scans done, but first time I googled it 18 months ago, it sounded like a sure thing cancer.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/brain-other-cns-and-intracranial-tumours#:~:text=Brain%2C%20other%20CNS%20and%20intracranial%20tumours%20incidence,cases%20(2017%2D2019).

12, 746 brain tumours diagnosed each year in the UK. Not all will be malignant. So given the UK population is approx 68 million, that makes them fairly rare?

Oh, and my DD had done a neuroscience degree because the GP was dismissive of her teenage headaches. She is almost a Dr herself now 😂

Weridly I would prefer doctors to think zebra then horse.

I’ve always thought this is strange! Surely you should be looking out for zebras. But then I’m not a doctor and prone to health anxiety myself so what do I know.

OP - there is nothing you can do right now. If you genuinely thought your life was at risk right now you’d be at A&E. You don’t think this, you have an appointment for Monday. Step away from google, do something else. As someone with health anxiety I know just how easily the mind and body can play tricks on you. Go for a walk, get some exercise - it really does help. It will soon be Monday.

Tonsil stones can stink. Like a burning or sulphur smell, you might not have got rid of these.

‘Fairly’ or ‘very’ 🤷‍♀️

My mother had cluster headaches - they ruined her life. You have my total sympathy

OK. "Relatively" rare. Is that OK? It is very unlikely that OP has a brain tumour, especially given she is only 31. I was trying to reassure her 🤷‍♀️

I had exactly this, the smell of burning, like wood burning, I also had two other smells, ammonia and melted chocolate, constantly. Googled it, when I realised no one else smelled it, brain tumour came up, i also had two other incidents of neurological symptoms that terrified me, turned out it was an after effect of covid.

Do get it checked out though, but it is a common side effect of covid.

Tonsil stones smell, so best to get it checked but could relate to that.

It will almost certainly be that.

Covid isn’t the only illness that can fuck around with your sense of smell. Any respiratory / ear-nose-throat infection can do it. If you’re having headaches you might have a lingering sinus infection too. And tonsil stones reek (and don’t tend to be solved by antibiotics).

I was smelling phantom smells for months after I had glandular fever when I was younger, and have been smelling burning (sort of a cigarette smoke type of smell) since I had a very bad lingering cold in early January.

In short - while brain tumours certainly can mess with your sense of smell, it’s extremely rare. Whereas phantom smells after a nasty case of flu, throat/sinus infections, Covid etc are pretty common. So try not to worry! Obviously good to get things checked out to rule out anything serious but it’s way more likely to be nothing to worry about.