Happy Anosmia Awareness Day!

Every year, on February 27th, it is Anosmia Awareness day. And now you probably still don't know anything. And this is basically the whole reason we a need an Awareness day ;)

According to Wikipedia^anosmia :

Anosmia is the inability to perceive odor or a lack of functioning olfaction—the loss of the sense of smell. Anosmia may be temporary, but some forms such as from an accident, can be permanent.

And there is a very distinct difference between the effect of anosmia between people that were born with it and the people that lost their sense of smell through an illness or accident. Let's say that it is pretty hard to lose it, and easy to deal with not knowing what you miss...

I am one of the congenital anosmics and the estimates are that approximately 1 in 10,000 people is affected by congenital anosmia^source. I know at least 2 congenital anosmics that I didn't meet through an anosmia support group: my dad and my ex-boyfriend (coincidence!!). You might also know one, but chances are that this person will never talk about it.

Because it is something that is easy to hide and is also easily forgotten. I have friends that have known me most of my life that still yell in excitement: "Oh, smell this!!" to feel stupid about 1 second later after seeing my face doing the "really?-look".

The invisibility of this issue is the reason why not a lot of research is done in this field. You are perfectly able to run your life and not go through life a handicapped person. From all the senses there are, I think that smell is the best one to miss. But seeing all the efforts that are made to make blind people see again and deaf people hear again, I am sometimes pretty jealous of the money that goes into that research.

For as long as I can remember, I have been aware that I am not able to smell. This was because my parents recognised it from my dad's anosmia. I have been to the doctor a few times to ask what my options were, and most of the time I was sent home with:"Ah, learn to live with it"... not knowing what caused it and what is wrong with you. One day a doctor checked out my nose to tell me there was nothing wrong with my nose... And by that time I knew there was something wrong with my brain.

I have been unaware of the exact cause of my condition till 2016 when I found an advertisement for anosmic research in Dresden. So I went to Dresden to do a huge number of sniffing tests and end up in an MRI.

---

And yes, we found it (Eureka?)! My olfactory bulb, the neural structure that is responsible for transmitting smell-sensor information to the brain where it can be further processed, just didn't develop.

So is this the end of my story? I hope not! Thank god there is an organisation (Monell Center) researching olfactory stem cells and the possibility to regrow them. It might take 10 years before there is a breakthrough, but I am patient (and optimistic)!

FAQ

• "If you can't smell, you can't taste"
  You probably assume that because when you have a cold, it feels that way. However, there is nothing wrong with our taste buds. We taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty perfectly well. We might even taste this better than you, to compensate the lack of smell.

• "You can't smell, not even < insert worst smell person could think of >?"
  No smell is no smell... so yeah, we can't smell your farts!

• "Does that mean that you don't dislike any type of food?"
  A long story short, not really. In my case, I don't like anything bitter (like coffee) and too salty/spicy. This is because it is too strong if all you have is your tongue-taste. I also tend to find texture very important. Fatty pieces in beef ruin my appetite, for instance. I am extremely fuzzy and am hesitant in trying new foods, because the first time I have any idea of the taste, it is already in my mouth.

• "Isn't anosmia dangerous?"
  It can be, but you can install a fire alarm and all other kinds of gadgets to help keep you safe. I put a timer on to remind me that I am cooking something. I learned this after forgetting I put some bread in the oven that nearly burned my house down.

• "How do you buy perfume?"
  Yup, that is a tricky one. I will bring a friend that I trust and I will go for the "safer, more general, commercial" scents. I explain what I want my personal message to be, and I hope to god my friend translates that well into a smell. But I have noticed that it is pretty hard to support an anosmic person buying perfume. It would also help to explain that not every perfume is right for every occasion. And so I bet I have walked around the office with a very inappropriate perfume many times. Because, yes, I sometimes end up going for the nicest bottle because I feel like it.

• "If you could smell anything, what would it be?"
  I am very curious about lavender, somehow. But things that are most mysterious to me are personal smells... How people recognise people by how they smell.

• "You really can't smell?"
  Explain to me, why does nobody believe this is possible? ;)

Famous anosmics

• @r00sj3 (not famous yet, but still dreaming)
• Ben Cohen, of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
  The reason that Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream is so rich with other sensory features like the big chunks, colours and added textures, is because as an anosmic, these features also define a lot of our taste.
• Michael Hutchence (INXS)
• Actor Bill Pullman
• Stevie Wonder
• Perrie Edwards (Little Mix)

Feel free to ask me anything else in the comments!