6 yrs ago i lost my sense of smell and taste does anyone know of anything i can do to help it to return?

Question

i sufferered a head injury due to a road traffic accident,which caused a fractured skull this is the reason i have lost these senses

Answer 1

Hello, I extend my sympathy to you for the loss of a very important body function which is responsible for a good quality of life and one's personal safety.

The simple thing for me to do would be to advise you to see a physician that has specialized in the treatment of disorders of the eyes, ears, nose, and throat. This medical speciality is OTOLARYNGOLOGY. If you have medical insurance, that is the most appropriate step to take. If you do not have insurance, the next best thing to do is to educate yourself using the Web as a source of information.

You will find more information than you can imagine if you query the Web for "Disease of the Olfactory nerve."

I will try to point you in the right direction for reliable answers to your question using the Web as a guide.

Loss of smell is termed ANOSMIA using the medical vocabulary. There are many causes, including medications, allergies, and most certainly head injury. Some of the causes are reversible, many are not. Unfortunately, closed injury of the brain from trauma (car crash) is a frequent cause of this problem. It is often not reversible by treatment.

I refer you to one particular site on the Web:
The Anosmia Foundation

There is a wealth of information there from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and other informative sites.

Good Luck to you in your search for knowledge.

Answer 2

I had a similar problem after I fractured my skull and lost my sense of smell but it returned after about 2 months (slowly), its still not as good as it was but I don't remember doing anything to make it come back, sorry. If its been 6 years then it has probably gone until you get some kind of nerve reconstruction, this may be possible with stem cell research that is being investigated now. I hope this helps you in the future but I don't think its available now.

Answer 3

See an Ears Nose Throat doctor ASAP ... Anosmis can cause impotency.

"Anosmia is the lack of olfaction, or a loss of the sense of smell. It can be either temporary or permanent. A related term, hyposmia refers to a decrease in the ability to smell. Some people may be anosmic for one particular odor. This is called "specific anosmia" and may be genetically based. Anosmia can be diagnosed by doctors by using scratch-n-sniff odor tests or by using commonly available odors such as coffee, lemon, and cinnamon.

It should be emphasized that there are no more than 5 distinctive tastes: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami. The 10,000 different scents which humans usually recognize as 'tastes' are often lost or severely diminished with the loss of olfaction.

While termed as a disability, anosmia is often viewed in the medical field as a trivial problem. This is not always the case - esthesioneuroblastoma is a cancerous tumor originating in or near the olfactory nerve. This is a serious condition - if you suspect that you have lost your sense of smell, see an Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) immediately." <1>

Answer 4

If it hasn't come back, you probably won't get it. A family member had a head injury in the early 60's and lost her sense of smell. It's not back yet.

My non-medical opinion is that you've damaged either the nerves that connect those sense organs to the brain, or the brain centers themselves that interpret those sensations. I'm told that nerve tissue may sometimes regenerate at a very slow rate, but I would think that if it hasn't happened in 6 years, it probably won't.

Answer 5

You may never recover or recover very slowly. Try therapy if the loss is due to the turmatic experience raqther than the actual injury. If it's the injury check with a doctor and see is if it's nerve damage or if the actual brain has been damaged. This is a nother possible area for stem cell research.

Answer 6

Obviously there was some damage, probably to some of the cranial nerves in your brain, that occurred due to this accident.

Unless someone here is a neurosurgeon, or has received successful treatment for a similar condition, I doubt anyone else (including myself) would have any meaningful suggestions for you, unfortunately.

I assume you've discussed this with your doctor. What did he/she say?

Otherwise, all I can recommend is to seek out a group (either offline or online) that specializes in traumatic head injuries for answers. Best wishes to you to find what you're looking for.

Answer 7

Yes, it's possible. I've also heard about a similar situation where one guy suffered from a lack of zinc. He could eat it but his body stopped processing it all of a sudden. It passed right thru him. His doctors took a long time to discover the problem.

Answer 8

Umm sorry but i heard of that b4 and i dont think theres no way that u can ever get your senses back so i guess u just have to deal with it basically and live your life to tha fullest

Answer 9

See your doctor, but if it is a result of brain injury, it might begin to return someday, but most likely will not.

Answer 10

I don't know, but look on the brightside, you will never have to smell really stinky farts, and you will be skinny since taste of double chocolate cheesecake with chocolate frosting won't taste good to you.