Been smelling smoke for a week after bonfire. - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,936 members161,765 posts

Been smelling smoke for a week after bonfire.

pffft2017 profile image
26 Replies

Constantly smelling smoke when the wind changed direction as I burnt some conifer branches. It's happened before but never continued for this long. Cut my nose hair, tried nasal sprays, irrigation etc; to no effect. Only thing that helps is Olbas oil which counters the stink.

Googled it and it came up with Phantosmia which seems very unlikely, and also could be related to thyroid problems and I'm hypo.

Anyone else ever experienced this and did you find a solution?

Written by
pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
26 Replies
tattybogle profile image
tattybogle

i smell smoke a lot , but that it because i am genuinely paranoid about things catching fire and have a very good sense of smell , so if i smell smoke i keep looking till i find the source.

must be really annoying smelling smoke that isn't there , i think i might go nuts.

DippyDame profile image
DippyDame in reply to tattybogle

And the good news is...

warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents...

New taste and smell test could diagnose Alzheimer's long before memory loss starts

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply to DippyDame

cool , so if i can't smell anything burning,

i can either:

be confident nothing is on fire ... or,

something really is on fire, and i might be likely to get alzheimers.....

( and whatever is on fire is ..... still on fire)

Thanks ... i think , lol

Zephyrbear profile image
Zephyrbear in reply to DippyDame

Great! What about those of us with nasal polyps who haven’t been able to smell or taste anything for years? Apart from, you know… living in the countryside, smelling things like chicken- or cow sh*t being spread on the fields or the disgusting smell of TCP which my husband insists on using every time he gets so much as a paper cut! All the lovely smells like chopping parsley or fresh mown grass or the earth when it rains after a dry spell have all gone and will never come back… Thankfully, my marbles still seem to be present and correct. 😅

DippyDame profile image
DippyDame in reply to Zephyrbear

Exactly...my post to tatty was a bit tongue in cheek.

They need to work on those findings.

Sorry your sense of smell has been affected....can only imagine how frustrating that must be.

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to Zephyrbear

Glad you've got all your marbles. My missus lost her sense of smell when she fainted a couple of years ago and hit her head. She just won't go to the docs, hasn't been for 15 years. It's a blessing for her sometimes when I've eaten baked beans but I'll tell her to check for polyps. Your hubby has the right idea, dose even a mozzie bite with TCP.

Zephyrbear profile image
Zephyrbear in reply to pffft2017

😂🤣😂 Hubby most certainly does not have the right idea with TCP! I hate that smell and it’s one that does still get through! But yes, get her to check for polyps, although if she can still breathe well through her nose she’s probably not got them.

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to Zephyrbear

TCP does have a half life equal to radioactive materials agreed, but it's good gear, I even gargle with it. The missus has no hairs in her nostrils and can't see any polyps she can breathe okay, just gets hay fever sometimes, and of course won't take anything for it.

Zephyrbear profile image
Zephyrbear in reply to pffft2017

You won’t see polyps by looking into her nose as they form in the nasal passages at the back of the nose. Mine were only shown up by a ct scan at which stage I was told I had a ‘head full of disease…’!

LucyYoga profile image
LucyYoga

ongoing irritation from woodsmoke can be symptom of mycotoxin issue. Worth looking into

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to LucyYoga

Oh that's definitely worth looking at, as I was unsure what the cause of the conifer infection was, fungi or aphids, Many thanks!

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK

Have a look at my blog page:

helvella - Phantosmia or Phantom smells

There have been quite a few posts here over the years about phantosmia - getting the sensation of a smell when it doesn't really exist. All too often, the reported smell is some sort of burning, maybe like an overheating electricity plug/socket, often tobacco, sometimes petrol, but can be anything.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to helvella

Yes I looked at phantosmia, and if it happened for no reason then I would consider it, but I feel I've missed some singed hairs up my nose as it smells exactly like what I was burning, conifers. Thanks anyway.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Can be a hypothyroid symptom

What are your most recent TSH, Ft4, Ft3, vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 results

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to SlowDragon

A possible link, but the fact that my nose hair was singed could mean I didn't go deep enough with the clipper. Last test was a couple of weeks ago, TSH 1.1 which is great FT4 1.0 as I'm on T3 alone, Never had the other tests, my surgery is incompetent to say the least, the last test was misread and marked as urgent ( ha ) and I have to argue and beg to have my pre-diabetes checked.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to pffft2017

On only T3 you would normally expect TSH to be extremely low or suppressed

Suggest you get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing privately

Day before test split T3 as 3 doses spread through the day with last dose 8-12 hours before test

Stop any supplements that contain biotin 5-7 days before test

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to SlowDragon

The test took place about 12 hours after my last dose, but yes sometimes it's been 0.9 and once 0.1.

Yeah I'll get around to a more thorough test one day. In the meantime I'm getting used to the smoky smell like I did the tinnitus.

I only take a multi-vitamin, zinc and magnesium, the latter 6 hours after the T3.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to pffft2017

Multivitamins never recommended on here

Too little, poorly absorbed ingredients, most contain iodine not recommended for anyone on replacement thyroid Hormones

At best a waste of money, but may actually make situations worse

Stop all supplements that contain biotin 5-7 days before any blood test

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to pffft2017

See you take PPI as have Barrett’s oesophagus

Then if on PPI highly likely to be low in magnesium and B12, possibly other vitamins

GP should test

PPI like Omeprazole will lower vitamin levels

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/p...

webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/ne...

pharmacytimes.com/publicati...

PPI and increased risk T2 diabetes

gut.bmj.com/content/early/2...

Iron Deficiency and PPI

medpagetoday.com/resource-c...

futurity.org/anemia-proton-...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Clopidogrel and PPI

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to SlowDragon

Many thanks for the advice. I did have a FBC and I was slightly anaemic, I'll pull the results up when I have time. No comment from the surgery and I dismissed it as not eating enough red meat. Only eat it about 2-3 times a year. I know omeprazole blocks a lot of minerals and vitamins getting absorbed and it doesn't help that I can no longer tolerate fruit. Been on liothyronine for 18 years now and not one doctor has recommended an adrenal test. One consultant suggested an ACTH test, but I think you said they should test DHEA, is that right?

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to pffft2017

The recommended cortisol test includes DHEA

regeneruslabs.com/products/...

portal-app.inspira-regeneru...

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to SlowDragon

Thanks, you're a mine of information

Maldeerum profile image
Maldeerum

Could this be migraine activity? I get olfactory hallucinations as part of the migraine aura and that is often the smell of smoke. I’m convinced there is something on fire. My migraines were very severe until I started proper thyroid treatment and the olfactory auras were a new symptom when my thyroid health was very poor.

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to Maldeerum

No, I never get headaches or hallucinations, thanks anyway.

Maldeerum profile image
Maldeerum in reply to pffft2017

Sorry, I thought you meant you were imagining the smell of smoke. That would be a hallucination of the olfactory kind.

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to Maldeerum

No worries, your heart's in the right place. Thanks

You may also like...

Smelling smoke smell but no ones smoking,also non smoker

Hi l'm Jool's..l've been Smelling cigarette smoke like someone smoking next to me. I ve been...

Started T3 and have been in bed all week?

feeling generally rubbish. Also, all my allergies which I only developed with hashi's are on fire!...

I smell of onions!!!!

I was diagnosed borderline hypo 5 years ago with a TSH of 5.1 I am not on any medication due to...

An odd question I know but has anyone else experienced smelling cigarette smoke when none is present?

I can smell cigarette smoke. The smell, which is definately a phantom one as no one is smoking in...

Horrible smelling night sweats - thyroid or not?

that smell horrible. My husband is very concerned because they smell so awful, he says they smell...