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Olfactory hallucinations

N

n3ophy7e

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
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Alrighty, here's a weird one for you.

I have been experiencing olfactory hallucinations, of increasing frequency over the last 4-6 months. Your first question will probably be something pertaining to my usage of hallucinogenic drugs, but in fact I haven't had any psychedelic drugs in that period of time. The last time I had any psychs was in November 2009.
The hallucinations are always of a BAD smell, e.g. cat urine, road kill, poo, etc. Sometimes it occurs for only the amount of time it takes to breathe in 1 breath, sometimes it occurs for 3-5 breaths, which I find remarkable. That's a relatively long time to be smelling something that doesn't exist!

Before anyone asks, YES I have indeed ruled out the possibility that these smells are actually coming from the supposed source. For example, the other day I smelled the cat urine odour when I was in my office at work, and there are no cats there. I have also smelt rotting flesh when I was walking from the back labs at work back towards the office area, and obviously when exposed to such an alarming smell I investigated further and could not find the smell again and therefore couldn't find a source. There are many many other examples, not all occuring at work, it happens at home as well. And it's occuring more and more frequently.

It really is the strangest thing, not worrisome at all, but moreso intriguing. Does anyone else experience this?? On a regular basis?
 
The symptoms you describe are referred to as phantosmia. This is actually a little more common than one might expect. I would suggest getting it checked out by a doctor. In many cases phantosmia and anosmia can be a sign of the onset of a neurological disorder like schizophrenia or alzheimers. I don't want to scare you but its worth getting it checked out.
 
It's also known as cacosmia (yes, the root of that word does come from 'caca', literally 'shit smell'). Olfactory hallucinations are almost always unpleasant.

Olfactory hallucinations are a common prodrome (a.k.a. aura) in epileptic seizures, psychotic breaks, and migraine headaches. They're rather uncommon on psychedelics. Are you on any medications that include a warning about neurological side effects, such as lowering the seizure threshold? Do you have a history of epilepsy, or a personal or family history of migraines or psychosis?

Watch carefully for other signs of strange mentation or odd feelings in your body a few seconds after these episodes occur. I really recommend you consult a neurologist if so, because all three of the disorders I listed tend to only get worse and more frequent if left untreated.

The only other thing I can think of is direct irritation to your olfactory nerve (technically it's a brain tract, not a nerve, but whatever). Multiple sclerosis can cause this, as can tumors and other sources of compression on the nerve. The few times in my life I've been punched in the nose, I always thought I smelled peanut butter.
 
Very very interesting. Thank you both for your responses, particularly MDAO.
I think I will get it checked out. Like I said, the actual hallucinations aren't bothersome at all, but if it may be an indication of something more sinister it should be checked out.

MDAO, to answer your questions, no there is no family history of epilepsy or schizophrenia or psychosis or migraines. I am not on any medications at the moment that warn about neurological side effects. And at the time of the hallucinations there aren't any other noticeable symptoms.

I'll get it checked out anyway, I'll update you guys if it's anything interesting ;)
 
Have you used any allergy nose sprays at all? I ask because I used a prescription one for years for bad allergies, and now on the warning label "loss of smell" is a potential side effect.

I constantly mis-read smells, like I will smell something strong like bold coffee and it will smell like burning rubber to be at first. The best way I can describe it is like when you only read the first part of a sentence, and completely misunderstand it without reading the second part. I've always attributed this to using the spray and having chronic sinus infections.
 
^^ Nope, I've never used any allergy sprays, nor (as a side note) have I ever been in to insufflating any substances. That's interesting to hear of your experience though, and from what I've read that can indeed be a symptom from chronic sinus or respiratory tract problems. Have you ever thought to specifically get it checked out? Or doesn't it bother you?

Perpetual Indulgence said:
How do know what rotting flesh smells like?
Share that story!
Click to expand...

Honey, you know I was a vet nurse :)
Lots of opportunities to smell rotting flesh in that field ;)

And also, more mainstream: road kill! We've all smelled that! :D
 
PDank said:
I would suggest getting it checked out by a doctor. In many cases phantosmia and anosmia can be a sign of the onset of a neurological disorder like schizophrenia or alzheimers.
Click to expand...


Poppy cock.


Stuff like that happens to me all the time, and I'm probably the sanest man on Bluelight.
 
I've experienced phantosmia in the past. It started around the time I began smoking hash regularly, but it disappeared after a while. The most common were burning smells or just smelling hash. There were also two occasions when I was smoking joints of hash and as I became stoned they developed a barbeque smell and flavour (yum). :)

I'm unsure of the relation to cannabis. It occurred times when I was completely sober, but more often when I was stoned and still smoking.

None of the supposed causes apply to me, to my knowledge. Interestingly it hasn't since been triggered by cannabis or frequent insufflation of mephedrone/cocaine and I haven't experienced it in a couple of years.

Oh, I've used a nasal spray with Fluticasone propionate at times, but I don't think I was using it around the time this happened.
 
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It's happened to me before, I could smell burning hair. I worried because I know that a lot of people who have seizures have the hallucination right before.
It happened regularly, almost daily for a few weeks then it stopped. No seizures, migraines or anything else followed and it's never happened again. That was about 6 or 8 years ago. I wasn't on any meds and didn't suffer any conditions at the time.

I'd say don't worry about it ( I know you aren't , just intrigued!) as long as there are no other symptoms. Seems to happen to a lot of people without any following problems.
 
Thanks for all the replies :) <3

My phantosmia has reduced dramatically since I've cut down drinking alcohol.
I wonder if the two are directly related...

I still get the odd whiff of something which I know isn't really there, but it's not happening frequently.

Very interesting!
 
I have been experiencing something similar for years, moreso in the past 3 to 4 months. It happens more frequently the longer I go without smoke or drink: When I've been sober a good long while it sometimes happens more than once a day. I don't worry about it much, as I know it is a processing error.

:)

I only worry when I smell something "burning."
 
Deja vu, jamais vu, sensing presences, are often allied phenomena when the issue is in the temporal lobe. Needn't be seizures, even without epilepsy anyone can have a "noisy" temporal lobe from time to time. Happens a lot when discontinuing meds or drugs and when sleep deprived.
 
Enki said:
Deja vu, jamais vu, sensing presences, are often allied phenomena when the issue is in the temporal lobe. Needn't be seizures, even without epilepsy anyone can have a "noisy" temporal lobe from time to time. Happens a lot when discontinuing meds or drugs and when sleep deprived.
Click to expand...

Enki it is really interesting that you mention deja vu because I suffer from that chronically as well!
Well, it comes and goes in phases.

I love all this stuff, the brain is so damn cool :)
 
What's your experiencing is quite rare and potentially a sign of a serious neurological problem. Most hallucinations take the form of either audio, visual, or tactile. I did have a fleeting olfactory hallucination once myself while I was extremely stoned but it was very mild and fleeting. If you are having them on a regular basis it could be a sign of something being wrong neurologically so I would definitely go to the doctor about this. I really do not mean to alarm you, but you should be informed about this.
 
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