Table of contents:
- Why do I often smell the odor that doesn't exist?
- How to ascertain phantosmia symptoms or not
- Can this olfactory hallucination problem be treated?
Often smell pungent when passing through a certain area, but when you searched, you could not find the source of the smell? Many people say that this is the smell of a ghost following you. Is that true? Come on, find out the following facts.
Why do I often smell the odor that doesn't exist?
You may have smelled rotten eggs, but no one around you smells the same. Not knowing where it came from, you immediately suspect that you are being followed by ghosts or other mystical things.
Wait a minute, this turns out to be explained scientifically, you know. In the medical world, this phenomenon is called phantosmia or olfactory hallucinations.
Phanthosmia is a disease that allows you to detect certain smells even though they are not around. For this reason, people often call this phenomenon the "smell of ghosts".
Smells are not just about bad smells, but they can also smell like fragrances. The smell that is inhaled can continue to be smelled when you walk or just smell it for a while and then disappear instantly.
As it turned out, the sensation of smelling this intangible odor was not without cause. Reporting from the Mayo Clinic, there are two things that can cause phantosmia, namely nerve disorders in the brain due to head injuries or upper respiratory tract infections such as flu or colds.
In addition, this condition can also be experienced by people with the following conditions:
- Inflammation of the sinuses
- Nasal polyps
- Brain tumor
- Epilepsy
- Depression
- Parkinson's disease, and so on.
How to ascertain phantosmia symptoms or not
You may find it difficult to distinguish whether this olfactory disorder is a symptom of phanthosmia or not. In some cases, the strange smell you are breathing in actually comes from the objects around you, you know. It's just that, the smell is disguised.
These strange, intangible odors may come from the following objects:
- The air vents in the house are dirty, so you may smell a strange and annoying stuffy smell.
- New bedding.
- A new air conditioner or heater, often with a strange chemical smell.
- New deodorant or cosmetic tools.
How to make sure like this. Every time you smell something unusual or strange, try to record the time in a journal. For example, if you often smell strange odors in the middle of the night and they happen regularly, it could be from the mattress or objects in your room.
So basically, the appearance of these strange smells must have a cause. It's just that you experience olfactory hallucinations so you feel that these smells have no definite source.
Can this olfactory hallucination problem be treated?
The good news is, phantosmia or olfactory hallucinations are not serious illnesses. In fact, phanthosmia symptoms usually go away on their own within a few weeks or months.
However, if this really interferes with your activities, you should immediately consult a doctor. As a first step, your doctor will recommend that you rinse the inside of your nose with a saline (salt water) solution. This method works to help clear congestion in the nose and relieve annoying symptoms.
If the symptoms do not go away, the doctor will give you certain drugs to relieve the symptoms. These drugs include:
- Anesthesia to numb the nerve cells in the nose
- Medicines that can constrict the blood vessels in the nose
- Steroid nasal creams or sprays
But again, the treatment of phantosmia is based on the cause. If this condition is caused by neurological disorders in the brain due to epilepsy, the doctor may perform surgery to treat it.
