Smell Sensitivity

[SamraLee]

Hi. I have a question about smell sensitivity. I'm 15 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I have tried to research information about this, but haven't been able to really find anyone having similar problems. Everything smells bad or neutral to me. There is nothing that smells good. I mean food, perfume, smoke, soap, shampoo, plastic, everything smells bad. I hardly eat anything at all because all food smells and/or tastes bad. There are a few things I can eat, but I don't enjoy them. Sometimes I can eat something even though it tastes bad, but it's getting harder to do. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced anything like this or had something similar when/if it ever goes away? I'm worried about not eating and the effect it will have on me and the baby. Thanks for any help or information.

I know what you mean. Only advice I can give is what I've learnt/learning. Only eat bland food and eat when feel well enough to but main thing is to get fluid in you to prevent dehydration

what horsey said. And swap everything you can (soap, shampoo, detergent, cleaning products) to hypo-allergenic unscented stuff.
I was the same when pregnant with DS, but it went away pretty much after I gave birth.

Came back again this time, but not as bad...

The only thing that I've never been able to stomach since being pregnant with DS is the taste and smell of ginger. Bleurgh...

I had the same and it went away this week (20 weeks now). I hated the smell of my own house and still sleep with bedroom windows open! And I changed everything - my deodorant, shower gel, washing powder and stopped using lots of product which I considered as non-essential.

And DH had to bath our little one, as I couldn't stand the smell of his bath bubbles :)

I had it in my first pregnancy too and it also went away at around week 20.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon, it's horrible to feel like this, but well worth it at the end.

I also had/have this. I'm 14 weeks and it is better than it was but it's not gone. Hoping someone is going to say that it goes soon!!! I have found it easier to eat things if I don't smell them cooking, so I tend to walk the dog at this point. I have found one soap and one type of toothpaste that doesn't make me feel sick (I have really struggled to clean my teeth due to the smell!). For me the worst thing is actually the smell of other people and there are some things like garlic which I just had to throw out. Basically, all I managed to do was to keep trying to drink water, which tastes awful, even the glass had a horrid taste, and manage the smells around me, although having two dogs isn't making this easy!!

Sorry that I can't be more help but it's always nice to know others have similar experiences :)

I've got this to an extent. Luckily I'm fairly used to it as it's something I get with migraines too. For me 'sweet' smells are worse (perfume [it's often perfumes that send me over the edge pre-pg migraine wise], puddings etc), though cooking meat is pretty grim too. Toothpaste (smell and taste) would make me vomit too. Everything was a lot worse when tired.
The one thing that has got to me is DH. No fault of his own, but sometimes I can't be near him because something about his smell makes me want to punch him/vomit. Still getting it occasionally at 38wks, but also have a diagnosis of probable pg migraine, so that might explain why it's continuing for me.

Still getting this at 28 weeks, although I do smell good stuff too now. I switched most products (incl. washing up liquid etc) to citrus smells which helped. Also banned garlic & smelly cooking from the house.

I find public transport particularly bad. People & their smelly food, perfumes & body smells make me heave. Also having issues with DH (poor bloke) and often can't bare to have him near me. Sometimes I can guess what he's had for lunch just from his smell, it's awful but has got a bit better.

Thanks for all your advice and comments, it's nice to know I'm not the only one. I know what you mean about toothpaste, I haven't brushed my teeth in months. Hopefully it will get better soon, I can only hope.

There are non-mint toothpastes out there. Boots, Holland and Barretts, Waitrose (I suspect most large supermarkets do) etc. all sell brands that are mint-free. I found the standard sensodyne one doesn't taste of mint.
Also, when I was really struggling, mouthwash was foul, but made me feel mentally better for having done 'something'. If struggling, your dentist should be able to point you at some brands too. Brands I'm aware of that do "mint free":
Eythmyol
Weleda
Sensodyne

You might have luck with something like Aloe Dent, as whilst it's minty, it's not that horrible 'fake' mint. It has peppermint oil.

Also, whilst not ideal, children's toothpastes are often strawberry flavoured etc...rather than mint and might be worth a go.

I can only use ASDA protect senstive toothpaste as the mint flavour ones are too strong in taste. I've been lucky that my shampoo's and soaps not upset me sickness wise just not working as well as use too. My hair is so dry. My skin is dry yet spotty. How does that work????????????

Broodzilla I agree the ginger is just unbareable who ever suggested that as a remendy for morning sickness.......................Most women hate it after pregnancy lol

Im exactly the same at the minute cant wear the new perfume I got for christmas as now it smells horrible to me :( I constantly think my house smells and dp is getting annoyed because I dont like the smell of him atm its terrible.

Oh and I can use most cleaning products as the smell sets me off like bleach, bathroom cleaner etc etc. good excuse not to do the cleaning tho LOL

Also had the super-sensitive sense of smell. It was the main reason for us moving house whilst I was pg, rather than waiting - couldn't cope with the smell of mildew at the back of the kitchen cupboards, and we lived on a main road and I could smell the traffic fumes...

I did find that eating foods straight from the fridge made them not smell as strong. Also for some reason cooked potatoes didn't seem to smell too bad. If water smells bad, and squashes/cordials do too, I added a couple of drops of lemon juice. Til that started to smell bad too... Then I got a water filter, which helped.

You can clean most things in the house with water, kitchen roll and bicarb, which smells a lot less than cleaning products do. Never found a solution to the stinky people on the bus problem, though!

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Mine wore off at around 18w, and my mw said it should wear off in line with your morning sickness. Good luck!

Yup - especially crisps, mint, fish and 'people'! And anything artificial... It went at around 18 weeks.