I am in the midst of a familiar situation. Maybe someone with knowledge of neuroanatomy can enlighten me. Last evening, I had a massage in the home of the masseur. His apartment had a most unpleasant odor. When I came home, I still smelled it, so I changed my clothes, which had picked up the odor. That helped quite a bit, but I still detected it. This morning, after a shower, serious teethbrushing, powder, deodorant, and fresh clothing, I can still sort of smell it. But - where is the smell? Is it still in my nose? Is it a powerful olfactory memory? It seems to be more noticeable when I inhale, making me believe there are still a handful of these potent molecules in my turbinates - but how could that be? Or is it in my head? I know that smell and memory are closely related. I presume others have experienced this phenomenon. I’d like to understand it and also get rid of it. Any help?
Possibly … literally. You mention showering (and thus, one assumes, washing your hair). You know you’ve got hairs in your nose, right?
Believe it or not, but one of the manifestations of psychosis is the detection of non-existent smells. Not that you have anything to worry about, of course…
Oh, I believe it, all right.
Just to let you know, you’re not alone. I go through this on a daily basis. I have quite the “smell memory” I guess. I’m just hoping that more people here fess up to having the same problem, or I might begin to think myself strange…
Me too. Today the entire house smelled of poop. The problem is that with two cats and two dogs and lots of people working different hours, it could be true.
They say smell is the most sensitive sense. That’s why it’s so evocative. That’s why one whiff sends you back about twenty years.
And it’s the most powerful sense, too. I can see people puking, no problem. I can hear people puking, no problem. But if I smell puke… WROOOAGH.
But methinks this is some sort of instict. Imagine a group of cave-dwellers living together, eating basically the same food. If that food made one of your mates sick, it’s probably the best thing to do to get rid of that stuff as fast as possible, too.
I quite often continue to perceive smells for long after I’ve been exposed to them. IIRC, this is quite different from the hallucinating of smells which can sometimes precede migraines and epileptic seizures or which occasionally occurs in people with brain lesions.
Well… given my previous reply, I’m glad I don’t.