The Anosmia Foundation states, “Approximately two to five million American adults suffer from disorders of taste and smell. Anosmia is to smell, as blindness is to sight, or deafness is to hearing. Anosmics cannot detect scents of any kind. Over 200 medical conditions and many medications have been associated with olfactory changes and loss.”
What is Anosmia?
Anosmia is defined as the lack of functioning olfaction, or in other words, the inability to perceive smells. Some forms of Anosmia can be temporary and others may be permanent. Some people may be anosmic to one particular odor while others will not be able to smell anything.
Living with Anosmia can be very difficult. For non-anosmiacs, imagine loosing your sense of smell … food would not be flavorful and would become less appetizing, you would immediately be subjected to unwarranted danger by not being able to smell gas leaks, fire, spoiled food, etc. It has been reported that the loss of olfaction may lead to the loss of libido or sexual drive. Anosmia can also cause depression in certain patients diagnosed. And if that wasn’t enough, many patients report that people seem to view the loss of smell as trivial. This unfortunate view of Anosmia can make it difficult to get the same level of healthcare as somebody that has lost another sense, such as sight and/or hearing.
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