What is the Sense of Smell?
The sense of smell is found in all living things that live in the air, in water or on land. The sense of smell in human beings is blunted compared to many creatures in nature. However, people can identify many odors due to their advanced perception abilities. In recent years, it has been proven that human beings have the ability to distinguish over one trillion odors. In addition, people can distinguish more than a hundred flavor components with the perception of flavor that arises by processing the sense of taste along with the sense of smell.
How Do We Smell?
The olfactory area, which we mainly use in smelling, is located on the roof of the nose. gets. There are three nerves involved in smell perception. These are the optic nerve, trigeminal nerve and terminal nerve. The ophthalmic nerve provides most of the sense of smell. Trigeminal nerve endings stimulate protective reflexes against certain odors. The trigeminal nerve smells ammonia and hot pepper, but can perceive these harsh and chemical odors as painful stimuli. The trigeminal nerve responds to touch, heat, pain stimuli, and many bad odors. The terminal nerve is an anatomical structure that has been recently emphasized and its effect on smell has been examined. It is thought to be related to reproduction. Our abilities for the sense of smell are divided into three basic components. These are:
-Recognition
-Discrimination
-Odor awareness (olfactory threshold)
It is thought that the sense of smell is active from birth. In the light of experiences and cultural characteristics, a different hedonic code is formed in each individual and scent perception is achieved. The odor connection provided creates the odor memory. Smell memory is provided by bilateral stimulation of the nose. Therefore, those with unilateral nasal obstruction have a weaker olfactory memory.
What is Olfactory Disorder?
Olfactory disorders are common in society and this condition affects 20% of the general population.
So what are the causes of these olfactory disorders?
- Upper Respiratory Tract Infection: While this condition is more common in middle-aged and elderly people, olfactory losses are approximately 20%. It constitutes 30 of them. Upper respiratory tract infections affect olfactory function The most common conditions are known as colds, influenza, and viruses such as HIV. Temporary olfactory disorders occur in nasal congestion caused by upper respiratory tract infections such as colds and flu. Although there is no treatment for the olfactory loss that occurs in these cases, it has been observed that the olfactory disorders disappear as the recovery increases.
- Nasal and Paranasal Sinus Diseases: These types of conditions prevent air flow in the nose. Chronic rhinosinusitis, with or without nasal polyposis, is one of the most common diseases that cause olfactory dysfunction. In addition to these, nasal septum deviation and nasal curvature problems also cause smell impairment.
- Head Trauma: It has been observed that approximately 5% to 10% of patients with head trauma experience a loss of smell. In a study, patients with smell loss were given odor training for twelve weeks, and at the end of the training, it was observed that odor sensitivity increased in one third of the patients.
- Neurological Problems: Many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and cognitive disorders. It causes disorders in the sense of smell.
- Psychiatric Diseases: Many psychiatric diseases such as depressive diseases, bipolar, alcoholic psychosis, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia affect the sense of smell.
- Toxins and Medications: Exposure to high amounts of toxins affects olfactory function. Substances such as phosphorus, chlorine gas, metal powders, chemical solvents, acid, oil vapor, cigarette smoke, gasoline, ammonia, hairdresser chemicals, zincs and household cleaners are among the most important substances that affect the olfactory function. In addition, drugs such as antacids, sympathomimetics, antithyroids, and tetracyclines also cause odor disorders.
Olfactory Disorder Diagnosis
After the patient consults the doctor, his/her history and history are evaluated. A detailed endoscopic examination is performed during the physical examination. Blood tests and imaging methods such as tomography and MRI may also be required. The olfactory level is determined by smell tests. Thus, whether the patients have any impairment in their olfactory functions and the condition of their olfactory pathways are evaluated. olfactory cells Thanks to its self-renewing feature, it is possible to treat olfactory disorder with the right physician and the right treatment.
Olfactory Disorder Treatment
Since the treatment of olfactory disorder usually varies depending on the underlying diseases, it is especially Treatment by an ear, nose and throat specialist who is experienced in olfactory disorders produces more accurate results. Medical or surgical treatment may be required. Revealing the cause of the loss of smell is the most important step. Because this directly affects the treatment options and recommendations to improve the patient's quality of life. Among these treatment methods, the use of the element zinc and vitamins A and B is common. Because it has been determined that these substances are very important for the sense of smell. In addition, people whose smell disorders occur due to upper respiratory infections should consult a doctor without delaying these problems, because postponing this situation may cause advanced smell disorders. While nasal sprays containing cortisone are recommended for patients with nasal congestion, appropriate treatments are also recommended for people with allergies or sinusitis problems. In addition, the patient should not breathe products containing intense chemicals for a long time, should not smoke and should stay away from environments where they are used.
Smell training is also a treatment method used in olfactory disorders. The effectiveness of this treatment is especially seen after upper respiratory tract infections. In scent training, the scents of various aromatic oils are regularly smelled to ensure regeneration of scent cells and recovery of scent memory.
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