The Difficulties of Living with Anosmia
Changing the cat litter box never bothered her. It became her chore because she wasn't affected by the smell. We became aware that her inability to smell things could be a good thing in some ways, but could cause real problems in daily life.
She is a teenager now and is starting to wonder how she will get along on her own when the time comes. Really there is a danger even now.
She recently drank some spoiled milk without even realizing it. Later, someone else had a glass and mentioned that it was bad. She had poured it, added chocolate mix and drank it without having a clue. Most of us rely a great deal on our sense of smell to tell if foods are spoiled or not. Without smelling them, you have to look for visual clues and pay greater attention to food storage procedures and expiration dates.
Gas stoves and gas heat present the problem of potential gas leaks. Natural gas doesn't have a smell, so for public safety gas is odorized. Without a sense of smell, you could not detect a gas leak. You could also not smell carbon monoxide or gasoline fumes. Both of which can be dangerous.
Another danger would be the inability to smell smoke. This would create problems if there were a fire in your home, or something were burning on the stove and you were not right there. Working smoke detectors would be a must, though we recommend everyone have them anyway.
An issue that might be completely overlooked is that of driving. Usually you won't need to smell to drive but what if there was a mechanical issue that created a smell and you didn't know it was there. I found a wonderful article on the diagnosis of car smells. You could have any number of problems like a gas leak, holes or cracks in your exhaust causing carbon monoxide to leak into the car, a clogged catalytic converter, melting hoses or oil leaks.
One last difficulty, while not life threatening, that can be embarrassing is the fact that you can't smell body odor. You would have no idea if you had bad breath, body odor or your hair smelled bad. Personal hygiene would have to by very meticulous and overly so to avoid any embarrassments. The same can be said of using too much or too many strongly scented products. You also couldn't tell when you had overdone it on the perfume or cologne.
Resources
Wikipedia - Anosmia
Google Answers - Natural Gas Odorization
eHow - How To Diagnose Car Smells
Published by Marilyn Quinn
Featured Video Games Contributor, Freelance writer, voracious reader, mother of four, wife and gamer who lives just minutes outside Albuquerque, in Rio Rancho, NM! View profile
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