4 Must Know Things About Anosmia

The sense of smell is intricately related to the emotions, ability to taste and also your health. There are two odor-detecting patches in our nasal passages known as “olfactory receptors” that detect thousands of smells.

Anosmia or complete loss of smell is a common disorder that many Americans face. It is a temporary disorder that happens due to a stuffy nose from cold in most cases. The problem may turn into a serious medical condition for elderly people, and they should immediately see a smell loss specialist once the symptoms become evident.

Let's understand the reasons behind Anosmia and its severe effects:

1. What Are the Causes of Anosmia?

Nasal congestion due to cold, allergy and sinus infection are some of the common causes that lead to Anosmia. Some other reasons that cause Anosmia are:

• Nasal polyps, which is a small noncancerous growth inside the nose and sinuses that blocks the nasal passage
• Nose injury or an injury to the small nerves due to head trauma or surgery
• Antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, antidepressants and heart medications
• Cocaine abuse
• Old age
• Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer, congenital conditions and hormonal imbalance
• Exposure to radiation treatment during head and neck cancer treatment
• Exposure to solvents, pesticides and other toxic chemicals.

2. Symptoms of Anosmia

An obvious symptom of anosmia is the loss of smell. Some patients might also notice a change in the way they smell certain things. If a patient experiences a loss of smell that doesn’t relate to any allergy or cold and doesn’t improve even after a week or two, it's advisable to consult a doctor immediately.

3. Effect of Anosmia on an Individual

Loss of smell may significantly affect the quality of life of an individual, which often results in poor nutrition and reduced appetite. There have been incidents wherein Anosmia patients showed the signs of depression. Loss of smell may tempt the patients to use more sugar or salt in their food intake to enhance the taste, and thus making them prone to diabetes or high blood pressure.

Anosmia not only affects the lifestyle of an individual, but it may also pose a threat to their safety. Inability to smell gas leakage or the burning smell of fire may put Anosmia patients in danger.

4. Treatment of Anosmia

If someone has caught Anosmia due to allergy or cold, there is no need to undergo any treatment as it gets resolved on its own. Over-the-counter decongestants open up the nasal passages and make breathing easier. If there is a Polyp growth inside the nasal passage, a doctor might recommend surgery to remove the obstruction. Quitting smoking is another way to prevent Anosmia from getting worse.

Summary

Anosmia or the loss of smell is a disorder that happens due to allergy, sinus and ageing. Let’s read more about the disease, its symptoms and ways to treat it.

When Does Sinusitis Require Surgery?

Sinusitis is a condition that affects millions of people in the US every year. An acute bacterial sinusitis lasts four weeks or less and can be treated by the use of basic medication such as saline nasal spray, nasal corticosteroids, decongestants, and antibiotics. Recurrent acute sinus infections (more than 3 per year) or a chronic sinus infections (lasting 3 months or longer despite antibiotic and steroid treatment) may even require surgery. Here is a list of signs that will tell you when it is time for you to consider surgery.

Signs you need sinusitis surgery

Chronic Persistent Sinus Problems

When one or more of your sinuses develop a bacterial infection that won't easily respond to medication and remains inflamed for a period greater than 60-90 days, you have a condition referred to as Chronic Sinusitis. Patients usually visit specialists when the infection has reached a stage where treating it by the usual remedies for treating sinusitis is no longer useful. A specialist will use a more aggressive medical therapy and evaluation process that includes - bacterial cultures to look for resistant bacteria, prolonged broad spectrum antibiotics, radiologic studies that may include CT scans of the sinuses, and endoscopic examination of the nasal passages and sinus openings, and more, before considering surgery as the next logical step.

Acute Recurrent Sinus Infections

While there is no official frequency of infections that can tell you when surgery is needed, here is a rule of thumb that is frequently applied.

• 3-4 or more occurrences of sinusitis infection in the last 12 months
• Presence of anatomic abnormality obstructing normal sinus drainage seen on CT scan

Frequent Headaches of Sinus Origin

Although frequent headaches are one of the most common reasons why people visit sinus specialists, they are not always related to sinusitis. In some cases headaches are due to sinusitis while in other cases the headaches are a result of migraines. In rare cases, underlying migraines can also be exacerbated by underlying sinusitis. While a very obvious and clear source of sinusitis is detectable in some patients, others either do not show any clear signs of headaches of sinus origin.

If the problem is clear, additional medical therapy is considered to take care of the problem and if there are no signs of improvement, surgical options are discussed. The process gets complicated when the cause of the headaches is either not clear or completely undetectable. In such situations medical therapy and other options such as neurologic consultation are tried. If this does not help, it is appropriate to proceed with a surgical intervention.

Airway Obstruction

Specific anatomic abnormalities such as nasal polyps, nasal septal deviations, prominent turbinate hypertrophy, and adenoid hypertrophy that cause nasal airway obstruction are not responsive to medical treatment such as nasal steroids or oral steroids and such abnormalities usually need surgical intervention.

Dangerous Sinus Problems that need Surgery

Patients facing dangerous sinus problems such as the ones mentioned below definitely need surgery.

• Sinus tumors
• A cyst or mucocele eroding bone and separating the brain from the sinuses
• Sinus infections that start spreading beyond the sinuses, into the skull or facial bones
• Spinal fluid leaks that can be related to some type of head injury or previous sinus surgery

Word of advice

Sinusitis complications can get severe if not treated correctly and on time. It is therefore, recommended that if you or any of your loved ones is facing a sinus problem, you must see a sinus specialist immediately. A general ENT while trained in these areas, lacks the expertise for such complicated and dangerous problems that a fellowship certified sinus specialist offers to safely perform these more complex sinus procedures. A fellowship certified sinus specialist offers the full-spectrum of sinus, nasal, and skull base treatments and does all that it takes to get you well again.