Weird odor stuck in my nose: In spring 202... - Cure Parkinson's

Cure Parkinson's

27,108 members28,476 posts

Weird odor stuck in my nose

YOParky profile image
31 Replies

In spring 2021 I began to smell an awful odor and couldn't figure out what it was. It smelled like a dead mouse! So I had my critter guy come check for signs of rodents. All clear. Had my ducts cleaned out and still the odor lingered . So, I had my HVAC guy come out and he determined i needed a new furnace and that old furnaces tend to give off a bad odor. Some time passes and the order eventually went away.Tuesday 12/16/2024 i replaced my furnace filter and Wednesday the same Exact odor found it's way back into my nose! I say into MY nose because after discussing it with others I'm the only one that smellsthe odor! And apparently also in 2021.

Which leads me to question..is this PD related? It's driving me crazy! I smell it everywhere I go! I've searched everywhere and cannot find much of anything.

Has anyone experienced having weird odors stuck in your nose?

Written by
YOParky profile image
YOParky
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
31 Replies
Debgiffen profile image
Debgiffen

Have you taken any colloidal silver? I recently experienced something similar when I took a few teaspoons of colloidal silver then spent the night trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. For me it was more of an acrid, burning wire type of smell. I figured out the next morning that it must have been a reaction to the silver.

Mechjack profile image
Mechjack

39 YOM, diagnosed 2 years ago. I have experienced the same type of thing. They have typically been smells I would describe as "chemical", "burnt" or "charred". They rotated out over he course of a couple years, but he same smell would persist for one to several months. At this time I can smell almost nothing and do not have any persistent smells. I do have the lingering taste of B-1 tablets in my mouth and nasal passages as I have been on the B-1 regimen. I think I may have had COVID a couple months ago and I'm not sure if the almost complete loss of smell is related to that.

Judithdalston profile image
Judithdalston in reply toMechjack

I’m a Long Covid sufferer, and my lack of smell has persisted to an average ‘one smell a day’…these are environmental smells that catch me unawares, often unpleasant and not really matching what others can/ cannot smell…nothing close range like food or personal smells!

Mellaji profile image
Mellaji in reply toJudithdalston

Do your long Covid symptoms present as Parkinson’s?

Judithdalston profile image
Judithdalston in reply toMellaji

Fortunately not, however numerous research projects/ treatments for PD have been considered/ used by some very disabled LC folks for neurological problems as drs.seem flummoxed ( or worse!)… mine are dysautonomia (with faints) thus I joined this forum! It’s always interesting to see crossovers, like smell/taste problems, showing how complicated the human body is, especially when it goes wrong!

Mechjack profile image
Mechjack

Here is an interesting article:

mdpi.com/2035-8377/16/1/2

kaypeeoh profile image
kaypeeoh

Years ago I was diagnosed with M.S. I had been smelling imaginary scents. A doctor called it Olfactory Hallucinations. I took Tysabri monthly infusion for two years. The odor would stop after the Tysasbri treatment and ultimately quit recurring. Then I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. For a while I took Tysabri and Sinemet. Now I take Rytari, a longer-lasting version of Sinemet.

WhyRBD profile image
WhyRBD in reply tokaypeeoh

I had the same issue with an ammonia smell. Happened once. Yes, Olfactory Hallucination.

india245 profile image
india245

I hear you! I smell gas. We have no gas in our village 🙄😬

docjleonard55 profile image
docjleonard55

It seems like you are having olfactory hallucinations. I had them for a couple of years. Luckily mine were a sweet perfumy smell, sometimes like food cooking. I was the only one smelling it, but it has gone away.

magirose profile image
magirose

Yes I suffer from this. Imaginary smells. I have chronic sinus issues from an auto immune disorder. I go between having no sense of smell to being overloaded with imaginary smells like an ashtray smell or other smells I can't define.

rozagrul profile image
rozagrul

I had a similar experience probably 35 years ago - I was in Mexico and at a restaurant and I smelled burning spices. The smell stayed in my nose and when I still smelled it on the plane on the way home I mentioned it to my travel companion and found out that I was the only one who smelled it. About a week later that smell was replaced by the smell of garbage which lasted another week or so - and then the smell of old books.

This was before I started noticing that the aroma of my homemade bread no longer filled the kitchen (obviously the yeast was bad) and that my favorite flowers -- sweet peas - no longer were scented (must have been hybrid varieties). One by one, over time, I made excuses to myself about why Ino longer smelled things.

I have had no sense of smell at all for probably ten years now. I used to get a whiff of coffee once in a while, or maybe something else, but the smell lasted only a nano second and then was gone. The smell of cilantro was the last thing to go, except for Secret deoderant - which I can occasionally get a brief whiff of to this day!

The name for the stuck smells is phantosmia. And I am sure it's related to my PD diagnosis which I've had for about eight years now.

1LittleWillow profile image
1LittleWillow

I've experienced phantom smells since 2004 (started after a head injury). They come and go, and my family is quite used to me asking, "Do you smell that?" Unfortunately, they're never good smells. It's always nasty chemicals, rotten things, burnt things, etc. Sometimes the ghost-odor passes quickly, sometimes it's "stuck in my nose" for days. FYI, I was diagnosed in 2018, earliest symptoms started in 2015.

Parkie1 profile image
Parkie1

20 years before diagnosis I realised that I could no longer smell gas from the cooker . I now have phantom smells stuck for days. I think they are often linked to memories. It is, after all ,your brain that's doing the work. Recently when I tried upping my Neupro patch to 6mg I was convinced that the house was on fire. An olfactory hallucination for sure. I lasted 6 days and reduced back to 4mg. PD is an imp....always trying to fool you.

GGmaLou profile image
GGmaLou

In the past, I could smell smoke that wasn't there.it happened fairly often for a while, but not continuously. Hasn't happened in a long time now.

Karmaone profile image
Karmaone

Wow I didn't realise this was such a common thing. I've been experiencing 'stuck' smells for a couple of years. It's always the bad smells, like picking up after my dog, trash, drains etc. I smell something bad and it stays in my nose for several hours, sometimes the rest of the day! Very annoying when I can smell the smell in question like it is next to me even if it is literally miles away from me....

jujulini profile image
jujulini

I guess I’m lucky because occasionally at night I’ll smell like something sweet is baking like a cake or cookies. The downside is I get up in the morning and there’s no cake or cookies. Lol

Always_hope profile image
Always_hope

My hwp loss his sense of smell many years ago but I have this smell in my nose. Can't identify what it is. It's coming and going now for about 3 years now. It made me think that it's Covid related.

Missy0202 profile image
Missy0202

I have had experiences over the years with olfactory hallucinations or phantosmia. The smells for me are more like chemicals but they come and go and nothing I have done has been able to tame them. I wish the smell was closer to a chocolate cake :)

Kingsdaughter1 profile image
Kingsdaughter1

I have experienced this for many years. It began after I lost my sense of smell and like most of the others who have replied, the scents I get are unpleasant & can last for hours, days or longer. I was once told it was called distorted smell.

Bracondale profile image
Bracondale

A lack of sense of smell can be due to a lack of zinc in the diet. You have to be careful with any zinc supplementation as it's important that it stays in balance with copper. Rather than even contemplating micromanagement, the easiest way to get zinc, copper and a myriad of other nutrients, is to eat liver. I don't like the flavour but have made myself tolerate it and eat 100g (raw weight) of lamb's liver per week. I know that C19 is said to alter/remove our sense of smell but I wonder whether a lack of zinc may be involved in a distorted sense of smell too 🤔

barrie1757 profile image
barrie1757 in reply toBracondale

You can take desiccated liver capsules.

Bracondale profile image
Bracondale in reply tobarrie1757

Yes, that would be more pleasant but I think that I'd need lots of them to be equivalent to 100g raw weight liver per week?

wayoveryonder profile image
wayoveryonder

Yes, the smell, that nobody else smells is related to PD. The first months after beeing diagnosed and started medication I had the same experience. The smell was undescribable because I had no comparison for it but fortunately it wasn't as bad as what you describe. It took about half a year until it slowly disapeared and so far it hasn't come back, but this was only two years ago - who knows?

kaypeeoh profile image
kaypeeoh

I started having these fake scents in my '30s. Now I'm nearing 70 years old. At first the doctors Xrayed my head looking for growths or polyps. Never found any. I wondered if they were related to my running habit. I used to run 50 miles per week. I tried different diets looking to find a better diet for long-distance runs. Then I found the Atkins diet. It said the body has an inexhaustible source of energy in body fat. At first it seemed to be true: With the Atkins diet the fake odors faded away and my running improved.

But then neurologic problems started. First I was diagnosed with M.S. Then later APS which is similar to Lupus. Then later I had DVT, a blood clot in a vein going from my elbow to my shoulder. Then later Parkinson's Disease was diagnosed. The fake odors occasionally pop up even now but I don't pay them much mind.

When these first started, the first fake odors smelled like Malt-flavored Power Bars, which I used a lot when running marathons. Now I'm guessing my brain was assigning something familiar to the scents to make them less bothersome to me. That's just a guess. I never mentioned it to the various neuros I've had over the years and decades. At my age, what's the point?

CJGC profile image
CJGC

Absolutely. I have the same issue . It’s exactly as you described - a smell in my nose. It is hard to ignore, but I have gotten almost used to it.

alexask profile image
alexask

It may well be virus/covid related loss of sense of smell. I had a friend who kept on smelling peanuts. If it's PD related then Mannitol might be beneficial and always worth a try if you are also suffering from constipation.

661marina profile image
661marina

Oh, well i never considered my "smell" Parkinsons related, but I've been smelling a horrible, toxic "fragrance" for a few years now. It bothers me all the time, and makes me feel sick (like I'm allergic to it). I have no idea where the smell is coming from, but I smell it everywhere I go! Ihope we both get over this very annoying problem!

Stag10 profile image
Stag10

hi there yes I’ve been having issues with it as well so I know exactly what you’re talking about it drives me crazy since I’ve had this PD and I get a lot of burning in my legs can anyone help with this issue please hope everyone has a great Christmas 🎄 kind regards stag

Wellnessme profile image
Wellnessme

I wondered what that funny smell was. It’s comforting to know in a way that it seems to be pd related and not my brain draining.

YOParky profile image
YOParky

Thank you all for your feedback/input.

I've finally found the source of the odor!..

Drum roll....

....

A decaying wisdom tooth! Gross!

This makes sense(pun intended) why I had the same smell years ago because I had to get a wisdom tooth pulled around the same time, within a couple days of having my new furnace installed.(sigh)

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

weird smell

Hi everyone. I know that we're not meant to be able to smell anything but recently I've been...
jeeves19 profile image

My experience with mannitol

FYI, I posted this on 2 PD Facebook groups yesterday: I started taking mannitol 2 weeks ago. I...

Weird

I'm watching an old movie. On the tv it's night and there's diesel motor running and instantly I...
kaypeeoh profile image

Body odor from thiamine hydrochloride?

Hi, I am newly diagnosed with PD and have not started with any medication yet. But I take a daily...
Mimer profile image

Sense of Smell: Could “olfactory training” restore it?

After my diagnosis of “early Stage 1” PD in 2019, I got the ‘aha’ about why my sense of smell had...

Moderation team

See all
CPT_Aleksandra profile image
CPT_AleksandraAdministrator
CPT_Anaya profile image
CPT_AnayaAdministrator

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.