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| Anosmia, Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention, Complications |
Anosmia is the loss of a person's ability to smell. This condition also causes the sufferer to be unable to enjoy food as usual. Loss of the ability to sense of smell or anosmia can interfere with a person's daily life. In addition to not being able to smell the aroma, the food consumed by anosmia sufferers will taste bland. This condition can lead to loss of appetite, weight loss, malnutrition, and depression.
In most cases, anosmia is caused by a cold or allergies and is temporary. However, anosmia can also occur in the long term and is a sign of a serious illness that requires medical attention.
Causes of Anosmia
The olfactory process occurs when a substance, such as a floral fragrance, enters the nose and stimulates the olfactory nerve cells. Next, the nerve cells send a signal to the brain to be processed and sent back so that the odor is identified.
Anosmia occurs when there is a disturbance in the olfactory process. These disturbances can be:
Disorders of the inner wall of the nose
Disorders of the inner wall of the nose can be in the form of irritation or nasal congestion, which is caused by:
- Have a cold
- Flu
- Nonallergic rhinitis
- Allergic rhinitis
- Sinusitis
- Smoking habit
Blockage in the nasal cavity
A number of conditions that can cause nasal blockage are:
- Nasal bone abnormalities
- Nasal polyps
- Tumors
Damage to the brain and nervous system
Damage can occur to the nerves that send odor signals to the brain, or to the brain itself. The causes include:
- Aging
- Diabetes
- Kalmann . syndrome
- Head injury
- Klinefelter syndrome
- Brain surgery
- Brain aneurysm
- Brain tumor
- Alzheimer's disease
- Paget's disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson's disease
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Schizophrenia
- Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
- Radiotherapy to the head and neck
- Huntington's disease
- Lack of nutrients, such as zinc
- Drug side effects
- Exposure to poisons or insecticides
Symptoms of Anosmia
The symptom of anosmia is the loss of the ability to smell. For example, anosmia can make the sufferer unable to smell flowers or body odor. In fact, the smell of something pungent such as fire smoke or leaking gas can also not be smelled.
When to go to the doctor
Immediately do an examination to the doctor if you experience complaints of not being able to smell, especially if you are not having a cold or flu and the complaint lasts a long time.
You are also advised to seek medical attention immediately if you suddenly can't smell the smell accompanied by other symptoms, such as dizziness, muscle weakness, and slurred speech.
Diagnosis of Anosmia
To diagnose anosmia, the doctor will ask questions about the patient's symptoms and medical history, as well as when the symptoms began to appear. The doctor will also ask about any odors that the patient cannot smell and whether the patient also has impaired taste buds or not.
After that, the doctor will recommend the patient to undergo a follow-up examination including:
- MRI, to detect diseases related to the brain, especially in anosmic patients who do not have problems with the nose and sinuses
- CT scan, to detect sinus problems, tumors, or nasal fractures
- Nasal endoscopy, to look for swelling, inflammation, pus, or polyps in the nose
- Neurological examination, to assess the overall condition of the patient's nerves
Anosmia Treatment
Treatment of anosmia aims to address the underlying cause. However, in cases of anosmia caused by allergies, treatment is not necessary, as this condition will resolve on its own.
For anosmia caused by other conditions, some of the treatment methods that can be used are:
- Decongestant medication for anosmia caused by nasal congestion
- Antibiotics for anosmia caused by bacterial infections, including sinusitis
- Surgery, to treat anosmia caused by nasal bone abnormalities or nasal polyps
In patients who experience anosmia due to side effects of drugs, doctors will advise to stop taking these drugs. While anosmia caused by birth defects cannot be cured, either with drugs or surgery.
Complications of Anosmia
Untreated anosmia can cause health problems and reduce the quality of life of the sufferer. A number of complications and dangers that can occur due to anosmia include:
- Food poisoning, due to not being able to smell rotten or stale food
- Eating too much or too little
- Can't smell own body odor
- Intimate relationship with partner decreases due to not being able to smell perfume or pheromones
- Fires due to not being able to smell burning objects or leaking gas
Anosmia Prevention
Not all cases of anosmia can be prevented, especially those that occur due to birth defects. Meanwhile, anosmia caused by health problems can be prevented by taking the following measures:
- Wash hands with soap and running water regularly
- Not around people who are sick
- Avoid exposure to allergens
- Consult a doctor before taking drugs that can trigger anosmia
- Stop smoking and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke as much as possible
- Avoid exposure to hazardous chemicals
- Use protective equipment when exercising
If you are experiencing anosmia, there are several ways to prevent harm from the condition, including:
- Install a smoke alarm at home as a reminder if there are objects that are burning and have the potential to cause a fire
- Mark the expiration date of food or drink clearly
- Changing gas-fired stoves or water heaters to electric ones and installing a gas leak alarm
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