Loss of smell

Introduction Loss of olfactory olfactory loss can be seen in male patients with hypogonadism or underdevelopment (Kallmann syndrome). Most patients with loss of olfactory have a normal taste for salty, sweet, sour and bitter substances, but lack a sense of discrimination. Because the latter relies heavily on the sense of smell, they often complain of loss of taste. If it is a unilateral olfactory loss, it is often not recognized.

Cause

Cause of olfactory loss

Commonly used in the nasal cavity olfactory nerve damage in the nasal cavity of the main complaints of the disease, the main reasons for loss of olfactory are: nasal obstruction such as: turbinate hypertrophy, nasal polyps, tumors in the nasal cavity and so on. Because such diseases prevent the odor-containing airflow from reaching the olfactory mucosa, causing a loss of olfaction or loss. Damage to the olfactory nerve such as respiratory virus infection, atrophic rhinitis, olfactory neuritis, chemical gas damage, skull base fracture, intracranial disease (such as tumors in the brain) and other diseases can cause olfactory nerve endings, olfactory nerves, olfactory center atrophy Or loss of use to produce sensorineural olfactory dysfunction or loss of olfaction. Or the brain is damaged. In addition, many SARS patients may experience loss of taste and smell after illness or during treatment. It may be that its neurons are damaged by SARS virus. Some drugs, such as betamethasone inferior turbinate, can also cause olfactory loss. Amitriptyline and vincristine can change the taste. In each case, the taste receptors can be diffusely affected, when the side of the tongue is infested. (such as Bell's face), loss of taste generally does not attract attention.

an examination

Related inspection

Olfactory nerve examination

Examination of olfactory loss:

After olfactory nerve injury, one or both sides of the olfactory sensation decrease and disappear, which may be accompanied by cerebrospinal fluid leakage. For complete loss of smell, if it is not recovered within two months, it is difficult to recover. Diagnostic assessment requires examination of the cranial nerves, upper respiratory tract (especially the nose and nasopharynx), assessment of the psychophysical examination of the sense of smell and taste, and enhanced visualization of the head CT to exclude tumors and unsuspected anterior cranial Fracture at the concave bottom. There is currently no effective treatment for olfactory nerve injury.

Differential diagnosis

Symptoms of olfactory loss:

If there is a tumor inside the nose, or it becomes swollen due to inflammation or sensitivity, causing the nose to block, the taste cannot be transmitted to the olfactory nerve fiber, so there is no sense of smell. This effect is generally short-lived. A tumor in the patient's brain, or a patient suffering from a mental illness, can also cause the patient to smell something, but does not feel the taste, or the smell is distorted. The former is a physiological disease that can be treated by cutting off the tumor, while the latter has to use long-term psychological counseling and psychiatric treatment to remove the illusion of error in the patient's sense of smell. Once the olfactory nerve is damaged, the patient may permanently lose his sense of smell. It is recommended to go to the hospital for examination, find out the cause, and then target the treatment.

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