Loss of smell and taste due to chronic sinusitis or allergies can be quite frustrating, especially when you have a lot going on. Now that the official first day of summer (and Father’s Day) is less than a week away, there could be barbeques, gardening, pool parties and more in your near future. Don’t you want to be able to smell all the smells and taste all the flavors of the summer? Why is it that there can be a loss of smell and taste due to chronic sinusitis or allergies, anyway? Perhaps you think you understand the part about the sense of smell since your nose may be blocked, but what about taste? Your taste buds should be working since that area couldn’t possibly be affected, right?
Well actually, the ability to smell also affects our ability to taste. They work together, so without a sense of smell, our taste buds can only detect a few flavors. As for our sense of smell, in adults, the most common causes of issues are a loss of smell due to an ongoing process in the nose or sinuses (like sinusitis or allergies), or loss of smell due to an injury (affecting the specialized nerve tissue at the top of the nose, or another physical obstruction, such as a nasal polyp). Some people with this problem report their sense of smell coming back shortly after exercise or showering. However, this relief is often just temporary. Some patients also report (temporary) improvement with medication (like antibiotics or corticosteroids).
A person’s sense of smell is very easily taken for granted. It is actually bestowed upon us by a complex system driven by specific processes-and without it, we could unknowingly put ourselves in dangerous situations (such as not being able to smell fire, gas leaks, or food that has gone bad). This can greatly affect quality of life, so if you are experiencing loss of smell and taste due to chronic sinusitis or allergies, please come into your nearest CT Sinus Center and let us help!
