Anosmia: Causes, Symptoms, and Natural Treatment Options

Is castor oil safe to put in my nose? Because of ricin (very strong poison)

I got castor oil from Walmart - think I paid around $2.50, nothing fancy.

Susanne, what kind of Castor Oil did you use?

I lost my sense of taste and smell after taking about 6 zinc lozenges over a 2 day period - only noticed it after the cold ended and I still had no taste or smell. I regained it by using castor oil one drop in each nostril morning and evening in addition to smelling raw garlic and onion several times per day.

I too have been suffering with not being able to smell or taste the things that I used to taste, but it has gone so much further that things that are supposed to smell good actually smell worse than awful and all the things that I used to love to eat I don't anymore. I have been to neurologists, EENT docs and had all kinds of tests done and medications prescribed and nothing has worked. It has now been a year and a half and the EENT finally said that it was probably a virus that destroyed the olfactory nerve endings that "sense and taste" the sent molecules. Unfortunately when nerve fibers die there is no regenerating, however I stumbled upon this medical study about the heavy metal Cadmium and the signs & symptoms of toxicity. Now I won't list all the symptoms beside taste and smell and taste, but it might be a good idea to discuss it with your doctor especially if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or other kidney issues.

Loss of smell unless caused by any physical issues is related to Magnesium deficiency. RDA for Mg is 350 to 400 mg elemental Mg a day.. Takes months to rebuild Mg stores in the body, so you will need to be patient.. Google Magnesium and loss of smell. Avoid Mg Oxide. Best to use will be Mg glycinate 3 caps a day..

Anosmia Triggered by Sinus Infection

Re loss of smell for past three years.

If you google "Google Scholar" and type in "loss of smell" you'll find a number of articles that reference that such loss of smell can OFTEN (not always) be tracked to sinus infection. I just recovered (four weeks ago) from a sinus infection (and some in bronchial passages) that I fought off for a full month before clearing. I used my old stand by ... Colloidal Silver and I make it myself so I know the strength will work. This recent infection was a very bad one and I suspect it was a lipid coated variety.

Well, during the illness, I lost my sense of smell.

That loss went on for a period of about a week and only as I gained control over the infection did I find the sense of smell return. That was the first time that had ever happened to me that I recall. But now, full recovery with elimination of virus.

I use an ear syringe to squirt the Colloidal Silver into sinus passages (called an irrigation) and let drain down back of throat or exhaling mucus first and then a second irrigation into back of throat. I never miss irrigating the ears also as I've found over the years that the eustachian tubes which connect ears to sinus cavity can also hold viruses and is a source for secondary infections. So; irrigate both sinus cavities and ear canals also.

And if the infection (if there is one) is the cause of the loss of hearing, the hearing will begin to return in time unless permanent damage was done to the nerves.

You might ask if the loss of hearing was precipitated by an infection or by medication? You said it started three years ago. Some more information for us might help give the cause. The idea of infection as cause is just a guess, after all.

Hi. I do not have this problem but I have heard that taking zinc, after a while, will help with the inability to smell. This can be a serious problem as, if you have no sense of smell, you cannot tell when food is bad, which happened to my mom last week, and she got VERY sick. She would never try zinc before; maybe now she will. Check online for dosages. I think 50 mg./day is tops. You CAN overdose on zinc so be careful. It may take a few weeks to improve.

I found chiropractic adjustments helped restore my sense of smell.

I just ran across this site tonight and am glad I did.

I had a fall over 7 months ago and hit the front of my head and then quickly fell back on the back of my skull, fracturing the skull and spent 5 nights in the ICU. I was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and the Drs. are treating it like I had a seizure.

I have no past of having seizures, and am currently on 500 mg of Keppra (down from 1500 mg) daily. I have no real sense of taste or smell. When I do get tastes, they are so way off that it makes me sick. I either have a taste like soap or a very burnt ash taste.

I have lost weight and like others on here have posted, I only eat to survive and keep my strength up. I have no cravings whatsoever. I am still weak and tired (have to take more rests than ever before) I am a otherwise healthy 55 year old woman with no other health issues. I am going to the Smell and Taste Clinic that is affiliated with UPenn Hospital in Philadelphia, PA in December.

The Dr. there, Dr. Richard Doty is very well known in diagnosing and treating patients with this disorder. I am very happy with the neurologist that I am currently seeing, but am discouraged that this problem is not more well known or researched. I am glad I found this site.

Mark from Alpena, thanks for validating what I had been thinking. I haven't had my smell for over 10 years. The only time it came back was when I was nursing (with both my babies, must have been a hormonal thing), a year at a time and then gone once I stopped nursing althogether. It wasn't until a few months ago that I got my smell back for about 1 month. I was so excited! And then disappeared again. I have been wondering what was I doing differently? Like you, I was drinking water with squeezed lemon in it all summer long. I was eating lots of fresh herbs and greens, cilantro being one of them. What I was doing was keeping myself hydrated and my alkaline levels high. Starting tomorrow, I'm going out to buy a big bag of lemons and stock up on my greens. It worked before, it should work again. What I found though was that as soon as I stopped, my sinus problems and no sense of smell came back.

Thanks again Mark, it's so nice to hear someone had the exact same story as me. Can't wait to get my smell and taste back.

So you still have your sense of taste? Most people I read about have the loss of both at the same time. A zinc imbalance can cause a loss of them. Usually a zinc imbalance shows up as white spots on the fingernails. I just looked and doc oz commented on this and said try zinc 30 ? I forgot.... Whoops , ... My bad

I use a full spectrum mineral and it is solving some problems I've had for a while. You didn't mention if this was sinus surgery or how it would impact your smeller.

I had surgery in 2008 after surgery I lost my smell and some of my taste. Just would like to know if there is any hope to getting back my smell?

My young adult daughter had a bad head injury with brain bleed 2 yrs ago.. It has resulted in loss of taste and smell however she does get odd metalic or chemical tastes and smells.. Is there a treatment that anyone knows that will help her regain these senses?

Hi Alinthing; I've read that in infants born with B12 deficiency, some of the neuroradiological findings are; cortical atrophy, slowed myelination, and thinning of the corpus callosum.

With B12 deficiency, there can be disturbances of all of the senses, including smell.

Even though neuro-damage may be permanent, there's still a chance for improvement.

My granddaughter was born with a part of her corpus collosum missing. she is now 25 years old and has never bee able to smell. her condition is acc (agenesis of the corpus collosum) Anyone out there familiar with this condition?

Russell: Magnet therapy would most likely help your injury.

I noticed that I developed Anosmia and hypertension after I slumped while carrying a heavy object. I hit the back of my head on the floor when I fell.

I still have my sense of taste in place but I can not smell at all. It has been this way for over a year now. I was booked for endoscopy to check for any possible nasal blocks but this has not been done. Viewing my nostrils exteriorly has shown no Polyps.

Can I please get any suggestion on what to use. I am in Nigeria, and the variety of options I can access may be limited. I would be glad to know what chances I have to regain my sense of smell back because the situation is really messed up for me

I have a similar problem relating to loss of smell. See the segment on nasal polyps.

I tried the tea tree oil recommendations on my sinus polyps and they are gone. To ensure the never come back, I mixed tea tree with alkalol in a old sinus spray bottle and use twice a day.

Last Friday; a sinus polyp fell out and I have been smelling every since.

I have had a diminished sense of taste and smell for over a month, following a bad bout with the flu and pretty bad congestion. I have spent hours searching for cures online. I have been irrigating my sinuses with warm saline for about 2-1/2 weeks and it seems to have helped somewhat. Then I read an article about "re-training" your brain by smelling things with strong odors (coffee, cloves, pine, etc). That helped a bit but not substantially becuase I could only smell those things in a diminished way.

I finally came across the posts about castor oil a couple of days ago and just went out and bought some today.

After trying it just once this afternoon I noticed a big improvement in being able to smell things more. I am thrilled that this seems to have helped. Tonight it was chilly in the house and I put the heat on (gas heat) and for the first time in ages I could actually SMELL the heat! My food already has more flavor and I am looking forward to more improvements as I continue the castor oil treatment (one drop in each nostril; head hanging over the bed).

By all means, give it a try! The castor oil was less than $2 and really seems to be working like a charm. Thanks so much for posting this information!!

A very, very grateful renewed smeller/taster

Hello Everyone, I was anosmic for 20 years. A handful of times I got my sense of smell back temporarily when taking steroids or having a steroid injection. Once or twice in those years I got a temporary low percentage of smell back after I had been drinking lemon water for a few days. (I realize now I temporarily alkalized my system with the lemon) I tried hundreds of different remedies to no avail throughout the years and then suddenly 2 years ago I got back my smell and it has been perfect everyday since. Looking back I believe the reason I became anosmic is because of dehydration, an acidic system and the allergies that accompany those problems.

There are 3 things that I changed in my life over the course of a year that I believe was responsible for me getting my smell back.

The first is I practiced the watercure which is drinking one half of your body weight, in ounces, of water per day along with taking sea salt.

The second is I became vegetarian.

The third is I used a silver sinus nasal spray every day.

My theory is I was chronically dehydrated and my body was way too acidic. Those problems manifested themselves into chronic sinusitis and anosmia. When I started the watercure I experience an incredible detox and as I increased my fruits, vegetables and alkalizing foods my sinuses cleared. The sinus silver spray helped heal my chronically irritated sinuses and one morning I put on some coffee & I smelled it.

That was 2 years ago and I have been smelling perfectly since. I am so thankful to have this sense back and I hope all of you suffering from anosmia take a look at yourself and do whatever you can to keep your body hydrated and at the proper ph. Every medical doctor I ever went to said there was nothing you can do about smell loss. Well with determination, luck and prayer, I proved them wrong. I hope it can help some of you out there.

Loss of smell is a very common side effect of Heavy Metal or possibly some kind of Zenobiotic toxicity. You can purchase Hair Analysis kits from online vendors or labs to check for HM. Detox Foot Pads are quite effective at eliminating all manner of toxins. Lots of recent comments on Far Infrared Sauna therapy here on Earth Clinic. Ionic Trace Minerals would certainly help.