I have just recently gotten over a quite a long and very annoying cold. It started out like a normal cold, then got into a terrible cough, and fevers. So a few days ago, I went to the doctor about it and was presribed antibiotics and codiene for the cough. But now I noticed something. First I noticed I couldn’t taste sugar. But then I noticed something a bit more serious. I have absolutely no sense of smell. I can breathe fine through my nose. This is beginning to worry me, as the loss of smell isn’t at all that good, as sometimes the sense is taken for granted. So what may have caused this problem, and will I ever get it back?
IANAD, but ask your doctor is allergies or medication are causing this. I lost my sense of taste for about a week when I realized that a carpet deodorizer I was using was giving me an allergy. Once I stopped using it, everything went back to normal. Then as a test, I tried it out again and WHAM, everything tasted the same again.
The senses of taste and smell are connected. So if you can fix one, you’ve usually taken care of both.
I agree with BobT that you should check with your doc. If he does not know, see an allergist.
Years ago when we were renovating an old house and the air was full of dust, pollen, sawdust and who knows what else, my wife lost her sense of smell. It lasted a couple of yeas, but when she saw an allergist for other problems, the med (forgot what now) helped the allergies and the sense of smell returned. She really missed it!
Tumors can cause olfactory loss. Of course, this is probably not your case. However, you should definitely take this seriously and see a doctor about it.
If you went to a dotor you probably didn’t self medicate with “homeopathic” remedies, but I have heard some horror stories about a zinc based nasal spray causing permanent loss of smell. Google for zicam and anosmia for more than you want to know.
Actually I bought some zinc and it helped bring back the sense of taste.
It was very weird when this happened. I drank some coffee and said, “This coffee isn’t as strong as I normally make it.” Then later I had lunch which was Mexican food. And it tasted like the coffee. Then I had some fruit. And it still tasted the same.
It was very weird.
But since the OP has had problems with a cold and sinuses, I would be very surprised if this were not something related to allergies. The problems with tumors are very rare. More often you might get a loss of taste if you are getting treatment for cancer.
I read up on this topic a lot when I had the problem. I was really glad when it went away. It took about two weeks.
I don’t know about you but with me it’s age. I haven’t been able to smell much for several years and I really can’t smell anything to speak of now. And that also goes for taste since the two senses are interconnected to an extent.
Try not showering for a few days.
Did you happen to take any Zicam ?