#dysosmia

the rose and red color represent smell and unity between people with different smell conditions. the wavy line also represents smell and the differences between ablility to smell or diffences in someones sense of smell. the colors correspond to the stripes in my smell disorder umbrella flag (link) and represent each specific condition

anosmia - complete lack of smell

hyposmia - lessened ability to smell

parosmia - brain incorrectly identifies smells, eg. a pie might smell like chemicals

phantosmia - smelling things that aren't there, olfactory hallucinations

dysosmia - any difference in smell that isn't a difference in the amount of smell being sensed. basically an umbrella for parosmia and phantosmia

hyperosmia - increased sensitivity to smell

[PT: btw it's anosmia awareness day! be aware of: anosmic people /End PT]

I made some userboxes for the occasion

[ID: Four red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user is anosmic. They can't smell." The second says, "This user can't smell." The third says, "This user is anosmic." The fourth says, "This user has anosmia." /End ID]

And some for other smell disorders too, under the cut!

[ID: two seven striped pride flags with identical colors. the one on the right labels their meanings, from top to bottom, as: purple for phantosmia, blue for dysosmia, teal for parosmia, rose red for smell, white for hyperosmia, grey for hyposmia, and black for anosmia. End ID.]

and here's some versions with a rose in the middle because I think that makes it look incredible:

[ID: the same flags as above, but with a rose in the center, which is the same color as the rose red center stripe. the rose on the left has black lines and the one on the right has dark red lines. End ID.]

There is a lot of research out there that suggests acupuncture helps with dysosmia.  So I started going 2-3 times per week in July 2018.  After each session I would make a conscious effort to try to smell and even taste things when I left their office. 

My acupuncture therapist, Chris, at Rocky Coast Acupuncture was fantastic.  In fact, the entire staff were great!  They’d do research, look up studies, try new methods, etc.  I’ll give more info on that later.

I had some success after 2-3 weeks when I left their office.  I could smell the air freshener in their hallway, I could smell a few flowers that were blooming in my yard, and I could taste wild raspberries too.

While this was super exciting, the smell and taste only lasted about 15 minutes. Then NOTHING, until my next appointment.

I took this as a good sign and it gave me some hope.  I highly recommend you do your own research and find an acupuncturist who is willing to try new techniques as mine did.

I wanted to put together a resources list for people with any kind of smell/taste disorder. (I’ve found the healthcare systems (in Canada, at least) isn’t really set up to diagnose/help this condition, so self-education and user-led support systems to the rescue!)

anosmia yahoo group This place is active and full of helpful people.

dysosmia yahoo group A little quieter than the anosmia group, but still a good support system for those of us with smells that are wrong (dysosmia) or shouldn’t be there (phantom)

Fifth Sense an organization based in the UK but seeking to support others outside the UK. Aiming to raise awareness, increase research, and support taste/smell disorder sufferers.

Smell Training is popular and many people have reported success or an increase in smell perception after engaging in training routines.

Anosmia Foundation - A good collection of resources.

Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum. An autobiography about the author’s experience with a brain injury that propelled her on a journey around the world exploring scent and talking to people whose livelihoods are in the scent industry.