RE: [tips] anosmia

[Helweg-Larsen, Marie]

Here it is:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/07/taking-scent-for-granted.html

Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology
Kaufman 168, Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971
http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm


From: Jim Matiya [mailto:jmat...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 9:25 PM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: [tips] anosmia
Importance: Low



There was an interesting article (Taking Scent for Granted) in USA Today about 
a woman who was jogging, got hit by a car, and consequently lost her sense of 
smell. She described some of her symptoms...food was reduced to texture and 
temperature and coffee is bitter hot water.

Jim


Jim Matiya [http://graphics.hotmail.com/i.p.emwink.gif]
Florida Gulf Coast University
jmat...@fgcu.edu

Using David Myers' texts for AP Psychology? Go to
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/cppsych/
High School Psychology and Advanced Psychology Graphic Organizers,
Pacing Guides, and Daily Lesson Plans archived at 
www.Teaching-Point.net



---

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RE: [tips] anosmia

[Frantz, Sue]

I had a student who also lost her sense of smell following a head
injury.  In addition to choosing what to eat based on temperature and
texture, she said that she spent more time doing laundry, a concern
expressed by someone else in the article.  (She couldn't apply the sniff
test to determine if something could be worn again.)

 

One summer, about 10 years ago, I was in my office on campus after the
custodial staff had just cleaned the carpets using bleach.  I had been
there 4 hours or so when I left for lunch.  When I got in my truck I
suddenly smelled something dead.  It was to my left, so I figured that
an animal had somehow crawled into my truck door and died. (Don't ask me
how that could happen, but I didn't have a lot of other hypotheses.)
Within 5 minutes the smell was gone.  (The dead animal, just as
mysteriously, had apparently fallen out of my door as I drove down the
highway.)  

 

I was back on campus an hour later, this time in the library, talking
with a colleague.  Suddenly, there was the dead-animal smell again,
again to my left.  Now I think it's me - that I really need a shower...
because I had apparently, again mysteriously, unknowingly smeared a dead
animal on the left side of my body.  (I also learned that it's difficult
to ask a colleague, "Do I smell like a dead animal?")

 

When the smell disappeared 10 minutes later, I decided that I was
experiencing an olfactory hallucination.  

 

The next morning when I woke up, I again had the dead-animal smell off
to my left, but it was much fainter than the day before.  After a few
minutes it was gone, never to reappear.  

 

I decided that the smell of the bleach had an undesirable effect on my
olfactory receptors.  But the experience gave me a whole new
appreciation for the importance of our senses in general and smell in
particular.

 

Sue

 

--
Sue Frantz <http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/>
Highline Community College
Psychology, CoordinatorDes Moines, WA
206.878.3710 x3404  sfra...@highline.edu

Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, Associate Director 

Project Syllabus <http://teachpsych.org/otrp/syllabi/syllabi.php>  

APA Division 2: Society for the Teaching of Psychology
<http://teachpsych.org/otrp/syllabi/syllabi.php>  

 

APA's p...@cc Committee <http://www.apa.org/ed/pcue/ptatcchome.html>  

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Helweg-Larsen, Marie [mailto:helw...@dickinson.edu] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 11:40 PM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: RE: [tips] anosmia

 

 

Here it is:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/07/taking-scent-for-granted.html


Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology
Kaufman 168, Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971
http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm



---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

Re: [tips] anosmia

[Christopher D. Green]

I have known a couple of people in my time who had little or no sense of 
smell. For one of them -- in about the only instance of my life that my 
technical psychological training turned out to be actually, practically 
useful -- I was cooking dinner for him one night and decided to sprinkle 
a bit of cayenne on the chicken I was baking (recalling from perception 
class that spicy flavors are transmitted by the trigeminal cranial 
nerve, bypassing the olfactory system). He reported that it was the best 
food he had eaten in years. The other one once served a Spanish wine at 
dinner which she described as being "salty, briney." When the various 
guests tasted it, the most obvious impression was a blast of 
eucalyptus-like resin of which the hostess was completely unaware. When 
I pinched my nose and tried the wine, indeed there was a salty taste to 
it that one could not really detect when one could also smell the resin.

Chris
-- 

Christopher D. Green
Department of Psychology
York University
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Canada

 

416-736-2100 ex. 66164
chri...@yorku.ca
http://www.yorku.ca/christo/

==



Frantz, Sue wrote:
>
>
> I had a student who also lost her sense of smell following a head 
> injury.  In addition to choosing what to eat based on temperature and 
> texture, she said that she spent more time doing laundry, a concern 
> expressed by someone else in the article.  (She couldn't apply the 
> sniff test to determine if something could be worn again.)
>
>  
>
> One summer, about 10 years ago, I was in my office on campus after the 
> custodial staff had just cleaned the carpets using bleach.  I had been 
> there 4 hours or so when I left for lunch.  When I got in my truck I 
> suddenly smelled something dead.  It was to my left, so I figured that 
> an animal had somehow crawled into my truck door and died. (Don't ask 
> me how that could happen, but I didn't have a lot of other 
> hypotheses.)  Within 5 minutes the smell was gone.  (The dead animal, 
> just as mysteriously, had apparently fallen out of my door as I drove 
> down the highway.) 
>
>  
>
> I was back on campus an hour later, this time in the library, talking 
> with a colleague.  Suddenly, there was the dead-animal smell again, 
> again to my left.  Now I think it's me -- that I really need a 
> shower... because I had apparently, again mysteriously, unknowingly 
> smeared a dead animal on the left side of my body.  (I also learned 
> that it's difficult to ask a colleague, "Do I smell like a dead animal?")
>
>  
>
> When the smell disappeared 10 minutes later, I decided that I was 
> experiencing an olfactory hallucination. 
>
>  
>
> The next morning when I woke up, I again had the dead-animal smell off 
> to my left, but it was much fainter than the day before.  After a few 
> minutes it was gone, never to reappear. 
>
>  
>
> I decided that the smell of the bleach had an undesirable effect on my 
> olfactory receptors.  But the experience gave me a whole new 
> appreciation for the importance of our senses in general and smell in 
> particular.
>
>  
>
> Sue
>
>  
>
> --
> Sue Frantz 
> <http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/> 
> 
> Highline Community College
> Psychology, CoordinatorDes Moines, WA
> 206.878.3710 x3404  sfra...@highline.edu 
> <mailto:sfra...@highline.edu>
>
> Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, Associate Director
>
> Project Syllabus <http://teachpsych.org/otrp/syllabi/syllabi.php>
>
> APA Division 2: Society for the Teaching of Psychology 
> <http://teachpsych.org/otrp/syllabi/syllabi.php>
>
>  
>
> APA's p...@cc Committee <http://www.apa.org/ed/pcue/ptatcchome.html>
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
> *From:* Helweg-Larsen, Marie [mailto:helw...@dickinson.edu]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, July 01, 2009 11:40 PM
> *To:* Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
> *Subject:* RE: [tips] anosmia
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Here it is:
>
> http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/07/taking-scent-for-granted.html
>
> 
> Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.
> Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology
> Kaufman 168, Dickinson College
> Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971
> http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm
> 
>
>
> ---
> To make changes to your subscription contact:
>
> Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
>   



---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

RE: [tips] anosmia

[Wuensch, Karl L]

Been there, came back.  Of possible interest to psychologists is the effect of 
anosmia on hunger.  Teaser at 
http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/Anosmia-Hunger.htm .

Usually the gustatory sense remains intact after such an accident, so it is a 
bit more than texture and temperature.  In my experience, the flavor of foods 
in the absence of olfaction is like seeing a rainbow in black and white.  It is 
not just the experience of foods that is altered, however,  When I lost, and 
then regained, my sense of smell, I learned that many of our interactions with 
the natural world, especially with other people, are, in part, olfactory.  Some 
of those who have lost their sense of smell greatly miss that olfactory 
component, and fall into depression as a result of the anosmia.

Cheers,

Karl W.

From: Jim Matiya [mailto:jmat...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 9:25 PM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: [tips] anosmia



There was an interesting article (Taking Scent for Granted) in USA Today about 
a woman who was jogging, got hit by a car, and consequently lost her sense of 
smell. She described some of her symptoms...food was reduced to texture and 
temperature and coffee is bitter hot water.

Jim


Jim Matiya [http://graphics.hotmail.com/i.p.emwink.gif]
Florida Gulf Coast University
jmat...@fgcu.edu

Using David Myers' texts for AP Psychology? Go to
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/cppsych/
High School Psychology and Advanced Psychology Graphic Organizers,
Pacing Guides, and Daily Lesson Plans archived at 
www.Teaching-Point.net



---

To make changes to your subscription contact:



Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

RE: [tips] anosmia

[Wuensch, Karl L]

While anosmic, my appreciation of hot peppers increased greatly, an effect that 
remains after having recovered my sense of smell.  My gardens currently include 
three types of hot peppers, including peter peppers:
http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/PeterPeppers.htm .

Cheers,

Karl W.

From: Christopher D. Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca]
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 2:56 PM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: Re: [tips] anosmia


I have known a couple of people in my time who had little or no sense of smell. 
For one of them -- in about the only instance of my life that my technical 
psychological training turned out to be actually, practically useful -- I was 
cooking dinner for him one night and decided to sprinkle a bit of cayenne on 
the chicken I was baking (recalling from perception class that spicy flavors 
are transmitted by the trigeminal cranial nerve, bypassing the olfactory 
system). He reported that it was the best food he had eaten in years. The other 
one once served a Spanish wine at dinner which she described as being "salty, 
briney." When the various guests tasted it, the most obvious impression was a 
blast of eucalyptus-like resin of which the hostess was completely unaware. 
When I pinched my nose and tried the wine, indeed there was a salty taste to it 
that one could not really detect when one could also smell the resin.

Chris
--

Christopher D. Green
Department of Psychology
York University
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Canada



416-736-2100 ex. 66164
chri...@yorku.ca<mailto:chri...@yorku.ca>
http://www.yorku.ca/christo/

==

---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

RE: [tips] anosmia

[taylor]

How did you get your sense of smell back? That seems more noteworthy!

Was there a particular reason you only lost it temporarily? I thought once it 
was gone, it was gone for good.

Annette
Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
619-260-4006
tay...@sandiego.edu


 Original message 
>Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 23:03:14 -0400
>From: "Wuensch, Karl L"   
>Subject: RE: [tips] anosmia  
>To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" 
>
>   Been there, came back.  Of possible interest to
>   psychologists is the effect of anosmia on hunger.
>Teaser at
>   http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/Anosmia-Hunger.htm
>   .
>
>
>
>   Usually the gustatory sense remains intact after
>   such an accident, so it is a bit more than texture
>   and temperature.  In my experience, the flavor of
>   foods in the absence of olfaction is like seeing a
>   rainbow in black and white.  It is not just the
>   experience of foods that is altered, however,  When
>   I lost, and then regained, my sense of smell, I
>   learned that many of our interactions with the
>   natural world, especially with other people, are, in
>   part, olfactory.  Some of those who have lost their
>   sense of smell greatly miss that olfactory
>   component, and fall into depression as a result of
>   the anosmia.
>
>
>
>   Cheers,
>
>
>
>   Karl W.
>
>   
>
>   From: Jim Matiya [mailto:jmat...@hotmail.com]
>   Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 9:25 PM
>   To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
>   Subject: [tips] anosmia
>
>
>
>   There was an interesting article (Taking Scent for
>   Granted) in USA Today about a woman who was jogging,
>   got hit by a car, and consequently lost her sense of
>   smell. She described some of her symptoms...food was
>   reduced to texture and temperature and coffee is
>   bitter hot water.
>
>   Jim
>
>
>
>   Jim Matiya
>
>   Florida Gulf Coast University
>
>   jmat...@fgcu.edu
>
>
>
>   Using David Myers' texts for AP Psychology? Go to  
>
>   http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/cppsych/
>
>   High School Psychology and Advanced Psychology
>   Graphic Organizers,
>
>   Pacing Guides, and Daily Lesson Plans archived at
>   www.Teaching-Point.net
>
> ---
> To make changes to your subscription contact:
>
> Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
>
> ---
> To make changes to your subscription contact:
>
> Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

RE: [tips] anosmia

[Jim Matiya]

Karl,

I still use your stories about toaster burning the bread and the green (sorry 
Chris!) food and your wife yelling at you.

 

It's difficult to understand life without smell!

 

Jim

 

Jim Matiya 
Florida Gulf Coast University
jmat...@fgcu.edu
Contributor, for Karen Huffman's Psychology in Action, Video Guest Lecturettes 
John Wiley and Sons.
 
Using David Myers' texts for AP Psychology? Go to  
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/cppsych/
High School Psychology and Advanced Psychology Graphic Organizers, 
Pacing Guides, and Daily Lesson Plans archived at www.Teaching-Point.net


 

>> 
>  Original message 
> >Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 23:03:14 -0400
> >From: "Wuensch, Karl L"  
> >Subject: RE: [tips] anosmia 
> >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" 
> >
> >
> > Been there, came back. Of possible interest to
> > psychologists is the effect of anosmia on hunger.
> > Teaser at
> > http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/Anosmia-Hunger.htm
> > .
> >
> > 
> >
> > Usually the gustatory sense remains intact after
> > such an accident, so it is a bit more than texture
> > and temperature. In my experience, the flavor of
> > foods in the absence of olfaction is like seeing a
> > rainbow in black and white. It is not just the
> > experience of foods that is altered, however, When
> > I lost, and then regained, my sense of smell, I
> > learned that many of our interactions with the
> > natural world, especially with other people, are, in
> > part, olfactory. Some of those who have lost their
> > sense of smell greatly miss that olfactory
> > component, and fall into depression as a result of
> > the anosmia.
> >
> > 
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > 
> >
> > Karl W.
> >
> > 
> >
> > From: Jim Matiya [mailto:jmat...@hotmail.com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 9:25 PM
> > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
> > Subject: [tips] anosmia
> >
> > 
> >
> > There was an interesting article (Taking Scent for
> > Granted) in USA Today about a woman who was jogging,
> > got hit by a car, and consequently lost her sense of
> > smell. She described some of her symptoms...food was
> > reduced to texture and temperature and coffee is
> > bitter hot water.
> > 
> > Jim
> > 
> > 
> >
> > Jim Matiya
> >
> > Florida Gulf Coast University
> >
> > jmat...@fgcu.edu
> >
> > 
> >
> > Using David Myers' texts for AP Psychology? Go to 
> >
> > http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/cppsych/
> >
> > High School Psychology and Advanced Psychology
> > Graphic Organizers,
> >
> > Pacing Guides, and Daily Lesson Plans archived at
> > www.Teaching-Point.net
> >
> > ---
> > To make changes to your subscription contact:
> >
> > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
> >
> > ---
> > To make changes to your subscription contact:
> >
> > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
> 
> ---
> To make changes to your subscription contact:
> 
> Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)

RE: [tips] anosmia

[Wuensch, Karl L]

After being anosmic for many years, I finally went and saw a 
specialist.  The problem seems to be inflammation that blocks the flow of air 
to the olfactory mucosa and/or which pinches the olfactory fibers as they pass 
through the cribriform plate.  Surgery and systemic steroids allowed me to 
regain my sense of smell, but then I would lose it again  until I got another 
shot of steroid.  I added to my treatments weekly allergy shots, allergen 
avoidance, intranasal steroids and antihistamine, nasal irrigation, and 
singulair.  That combination appears to be working well, as I have not needed a 
steroid shot in several years now.  Many others have traveled this same path, 
but the combination of treatments that works for one person might not for 
another.

Those who become anosmic following brain trauma (severing the olfactory 
fibers) are unlikely to regain their sense of smell, but a few claim to have 
done so.  Those who become anosmic following an uri may recover the sense of 
smell after a year or two of anosmia, with parosmia preceding the recovery.  
Parosmia must be really awful, I can only imagine how bad it is.  I don't know 
about recovery following anosmia caused by intranasal zinc.

Cheers,
 
Karl W.
-Original Message-
From: tay...@sandiego.edu [mailto:tay...@sandiego.edu] 
Sent: Sunday, July 05, 2009 9:40 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: RE: [tips] anosmia

How did you get your sense of smell back? That seems more noteworthy!

Was there a particular reason you only lost it temporarily? I thought once it 
was gone, it was gone for good.

Annette
Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
619-260-4006
tay...@sandiego.edu

---
To make changes to your subscription contact:

Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)