h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'd never heard of this condition until today. Well done that researcher for opening my eyes to some thing new!

Thanks for that - very interesting. I have a question though. Blind people often have a much better sense of hearing (and smell too, sometimes) which many think of as nature's way of compensating for it. Do you feel that any of your other senses are better than average "to compensate"?

I was born with what I consdier was a 'normal' sense of smell but since developing mild astham about 20 years ago I now have no sense of smell what so ever - but what fascinates me if the fact that I can remeber smells from long ago...althoug I can't small a banana now, I can remember exactly what that smell is like ( also roses, horses, Brasso, Brutus after-shave and the sea - curiously these are all smells that were associated with my childhood!). I've no idea what perfumes such as opium, Body Shop white musk or CK Obsession are like, have never smelt a Mc Donalds or KFC and have never been able to catch the aroma of the local Chinese or Indian take-away as I pass by! As an adendum...everyone says the sea has no smell these days!

Everyone is lying.

I just thought I'd share another personal story. I'm not anosmic, but my bf's great great grandmother is. Her condition has developed over the past ten years, and she is nearly 100 now. As her sense of smell disappeared, she also lost her natural appetite. She seems uninterested in eating and sometimes refuses to eat even when she feels weak.

Mimi does seem to miss the smells. One of her hobbies when entertaining guests is to cook meals at extremely low temperatures for very long periods of time. A roasted chicken, for instance, might take a day and a half to prepare. She will often open the oven and inhale, and then get frustrated when she can't smell the food. When she finally pronounces the food ready to eat, she exhibits a rare appetite. For everyone else, the food is unpalatable.

This is perhaps an unusual case since Mimi also suffers from Alzheimer's. It seems she never adjusted to her inability to smell the way most people do. Sometimes she has to be reminded of why she can't smell something. And it is best not to give her roses because she will complain about them not smelling good. But she's an endearing old lady. You'd be surprised how many people eat her dried out chicken and potatoes just to be kind.

Could it be that she does it to have a bit of fun? (some old ladies I know are really pesky types when they get going!).
Smell is a "funny" thing, though. I can remember smells from way back when, and the smell of certain bakeries here (Germany) take me right back to my childhood and the baker's van. Although, if the problems in the good ol' USofA are anything to go by, some people would gladly check in their sense of smell at the door when they go to work: all those executives, each with a different (overpowering) aftershave or perfume.
The sea does smell, and sometimes it even smells "like the sea". But that's rare nowadays, in my experience.

I don't think Mimi is having a joke at other people's expense. She is a very honest person, and isn't able to tease anyone for more than a minute before confessing the ruse.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound... well sorry. Just that my MIL is sometimes like that (which is ok), and sometimes she "puts it on" (which makes me leave the house for the pub).

Don't worry about it. I'm familiar with cunning old ladies like your MIL.

I enjoyed reading this entry.
Has it been placed for insertion into the Main Guide?

Reading this entry reminded me of an old friend of mine who was born anosmic. It was spotted when he was very young and diagnosed by doctors handing him vials of increasingly strong smelling substances to sniff until it became clear he had no sense of smell whatsoever. Most of the time it didn't worry him at all but he shared the concerns about unknown personal odours and worried about not smelling gas leaks or smoke. However, he was always kind enough to complement my cooking even though he knew I knew he couldn't taste it.

Some people born with anosmia have an inherited disease called Kallman's Syndrome, due to a mutation of the KALIG gene. I can't remember anything else about it, but anyone born anosmic should really have had this looked for as a child.

- Adam

Mimi is probably experiencing age-related loss of smell. Its a fact that all the senses diminish with age...the older you get the weaker your senses become. Mimi is an elderly lady and has probably experienced a degree of age-related loss.

The fact she also has Alzeimers will not help, there is much evidence that says that loss of smell is linked to a key protein in Alzeimers Disease.

'No explanation exists for what causes the alterations in smell perception associated with neurodegenerative disorders. What is known is that key physiological markers for these illnesses – deposits of neurofibrillary tangles or amyloid plaques, Lewy bodies or tau and alpha-synuclein proteins – are commonly found in brain regions associated with the perception of odors in the bodies of people who suffer from these illnesses.' That's a direct quote from

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-03/uopm-los030304.php

click on or copy and paste that, or goggle 'alzeimers' 'loss' 'smell'.

I'm a care of the elderly psychiatric nurse working in acute admission and assessment. I dont think Mimi is putting on any kind of act, just compensating for her loss of smell or dealing with it in her own way, the only way she knows.

Best wishes...Maz

Thanks, Mazstar. I wrote the original anecdote in 2000, and Mimi has since passed away. It's nice to finally hear a scientific explanation for what happened to her, though. I can have hope that if I never get Alzheimer's, I won't suffer to quite the same extent. Much appreciated.

hiya

it was insensitive of me to not realise you posted 5 years ago. I'm sad to hear Mimi has since passed away. Thank you for replying to my post.

Maz