A Simple Guide to Anosmia (Loss of Smell), Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Anosmia, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Since the start of Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of infected Covid-19 patients have developed the loss of smell or anosmia.

Anosmia is the partial (hyposmia) or total loss of the sense of smell.

This loss of the sense of smell may be temporary or permanent.

While some persons have anosmia by birth, others may slowly lose the sensation to smell.

Frequent disorders that irritate the nose’s lining, such as allergies or a cold, can cause temporary anosmia.

Anosmia normally is not serious, but it can have an intense effect on a person’s quality of life.

People with anosmia may not be able to totally taste foods and may lose their interest in eating.

This can cause weight loss or malnutrition.

Anosmia can also result in depression since it may reduce one’s ability to smell or taste pleasurable foods.

More serious disorders that affect the brain or nerves, such as brain tumors or head trauma, can produce permanent loss of smell.

Old age occasionally produces anosmia.

When a person sniffs on something, air entering the nose containing the odor molecules comes in contact with the olfactory nerve endings accountable for the sense of smell.

These nerves are present on the nasal epithelium internally.

When stimulated by odor molecules, these nerves transmit signals to the brain.

Upon arrival in the brain, it processes this olfactory information and interprets it into an odor that the person can identify.

One of the most frequent causes of anosmia is nasal congestion that often happens due to a cold, sinus infection, allergy, or bad air quality.

Anosmia is often produced by a swelling or blockage in the nose that stops odors from getting to the top of the nose.

Blockage of the nasal passages

Loss of smell can happen if something is physically blocking the passage of air into the nose:
Sinonasal tumors
Nasal polyps – minor noncancerous progressions in the nose and sinuses, blocking the nasal passage.
Bone deformities within the nose or a crooked nasal septum

Irritation to the mucus membranes lining the nose
Sinus infections
Common colds
Smoking
Influenza
Allergies (allergic rhinitis)
Chronic congestion not related to allergies (non-allergic rhinitis)
COVID-19

A cold is the most frequent cause of partial and temporary loss of smell.

In these cases, the anosmia will depart on its own.

Brain or Nerve Damage:

When the pathways through which receptors present inside the nose transmit signals through the nerves to the brain are injured, they produce loss of sense of smell.
Brain or head injury
Old age - sense of smell, vision, hearing weaken with time
High blood pressure medicines
Brain surgery
Long-term alcoholism
Stroke
Brain tumors
Illicit drugs (cocaine) and toxins

In rare cases, people are born without a sense of smell due to a genetic disorder.

The primary symptom of anosmia is the loss of smell.

Persons born with anosmia may not even recognize they have it.

The loss of smell can be an early sign of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

Anosmia is normally diagnosed by:
CT scans
MRI scans
X-ray of the skull
Nasal endoscopy to look inside the nose

The treatments that may help resolve anosmias produced by nasal irritation are:
Decongestants
Antihistamines
Steroid nasal sprays
Antibiotics
Decreasing exposure to nasal irritants

The best treatment is to use a professional scent therapy program

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Anosmia
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Hyperesthesia
Chapter 8 Pruritis
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005817862

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Anosmia,

(Loss of Smell)

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2022 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Anosmia, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Anosmia)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Anosmia (Loss of Smell)

Since the start of Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of infected Covid-19 patients have developed the loss of smell or anosmia.

What is Anosmia?

Anosmia is the partial (hyposmia) or total loss of the sense of smell.

This loss of the sense of smell may be temporary or permanent.

While some persons have anosmia by birth, others may slowly lose the sensation to smell.

Frequent disorders that irritate the nose’s lining, such as allergies or a cold, can cause temporary anosmia.

Anosmia normally is not serious, but it can have an intense effect on a person’s quality of life.

People with anosmia may not be able to totally taste foods and may lose their interest in eating.

This can cause weight loss or malnutrition.

Anosmia can also result in depression since it may reduce one’s ability to smell or taste pleasurable foods.

More serious disorders that affect the brain or nerves, such as brain tumors or head trauma, can produce permanent loss of smell.

Old age occasionally produces anosmia.

It is proposed that anosmia affects about 3–20% of people.

The process of smell requires nervous messaging to and from the brain and nose.

When a person sniffs on something, air entering the nose containing the odor molecules comes in contact with the olfactory nerve endings accountable for the sense of smell.

These nerves are present on the nasal epithelium internally.

When stimulated by odor molecules, these nerves transmit signals to the brain.

Upon arrival in the brain, it processes this olfactory information and interprets it into an odor that the person can identify.

What is the difference between ageusia and anosmia?

While anosmia indicates a total loss of smell, ageusia indicates a complete loss of taste.

These two disorders occasionally happen together since the sense of smell and sense of taste are closely related.

Besides anosmia, people can also