CJC@PSUVM.BITNET (02/22/86)
For several years my sense of smell has been erratic, sometimes
very faint, sometimes distorted. Recently there have been periods of
several days when I couldn't smell much of anything.
Is this a symptom of anything, a condition of itself, a usual
consequence of getting older (sort of older, I'm 42)?
Can the deterioration be stopped/reversed? What kind of doctor
would it be worth consulting - an ENT specialist, an internist, an
allergist?
I hope someone can offer useful advice, a world in which I can't
find honeysuckle by its fragrance or savor cinnamon rolls in the oven
is a pretty bleak place.
--Carolyn J. Clark
Bitnet: CJC at PSUVM
UUCP : {allegra, akgua, ihnp4}!psuvax!CJC@PSUVM.BITNET
era@hao.UUCP (Ed Arnold) (02/28/86)
Carolyn Clark (CJC@PSUVM.BITNET) writes: > > For several years my sense of smell has been erratic, sometimes > very faint, sometimes distorted. Recently there have been periods of > several days when I couldn't smell much of anything. I seem to recall reading (probably in "Prevention Magazine") that *some* persons suffering from olfactory deficiency were found to be zinc deficient, and were helped by supplementation. Recovery from this condition, when due to zinc deficiency, tends to be slow (i.e. gradual over a period of weeks or months). If I had the problem, I'd buy a high-quality chelated mineral supplement and follow the directions on the label (i.e. not overdo it). With luck, zinc would turn out to be the problem and I'd save visits to a $pecialist. Of course, I'm not a doctor, so your course of action is up to you. Best of luck! -- Ed Arnold * NCAR (Nat'l Center for Atmospheric Research) PO Box 3000 * Boulder, CO 80307-3000 * 303-497-1253 csnet: era@ncar * arpa: era%ncar@csnet-relay * uucp: ...!hao!scdpyr!era