See article. I am not in a field where my anosmia would typically affect my job prospects although I did have one experience where it possibly comprimised the safety of the people I was responsible for. I was a project leader for 11 youth in a small New Brunswick town. We lived in a house together, I drove the big van and I was supposed to enforce certain rules. Needless to say, teenagers are often caught using 'illegal substances' (you know I'm old when.....!) by the smell wafting through the grates or the smell on their breath. I couldn't tell them about my anosmia because I knew they would take advantage of it - those rotten youngsters! If I saw something I had to confront the issue but if I didn't see it, it didn't exist. It was a win-win situation.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09089/959259-114.stm
Loss of smell is nothing to sniff at
Monday, March 30, 2009
By Anya Sostek, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A nose is a nose is a nose.
Until it's not working anymore.
For David Agostino of South Fayette, a 2004 motorcycle accident cost him not only his sense of smell but his job.
A state appeals court ruled last week that Collier could legally dismiss him from the police force because without being able to smell, he might not be able to detect drugs, alcohol or hazardous materials.
The partial or complete absence of a sense of smell -- called anosmia -- is far less apparent or prominent than other sensory conditions such as deafness or blindness. But the condition, thought to affect millions of Americans, brings its own set of challenges.
It's unusual that anosmia would actually affect job prospects, said Beverly Cowart, director of the Monell-Jefferson Taste & Smell Clinic in Philadelphia, though she has heard of firefighters losing their jobs and once had a patient who could no longer continue as a truck driver transporting flammable materials. "Of course, people who are chefs have problems as well," she said.
The U.S. armed forces also lists anosmia as a "disqualifying medical condition."
Though Mr. Agostino lost his sense of smell through an accident involving head trauma, the condition is actually more common in women and more common after a cold, said Richard Doty, director of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
"The typical patient is a 43-year-old woman who has a cold, gets over the cold and finds that food tastes like cardboard," he said.
A cold -- or more serious conditions like nasal polyps or chronic sinusitis -- can damage olfactory nerve cells, said Dr. Cowart. Sometimes the loss of smell is permanent and sometimes the nerves regenerate over a period of months or years.
In some cases, anosmia can also result from a congenital defect or a genetic condition, she said.
And like other senses, smell tends to diminish as people get older. According to one study, almost 25 percent of the population over age 50 had impaired olfactory perception, said Dr. Cowart. In 80- and 90-year-olds, that figure increased to 63 percent.
The most obvious daily effect of anosmia is its effect on food flavor perception, said Dr. Cowart. Though the taste buds on the tongue enable people to distinguish between sweet, salty, bitter and sour, more subtle taste differences depend on a sense of smell, she said.
"They can't tell the difference between strawberry, vanilla and chocolate," she said, because all three taste sweet. "Aromatic herbs are just lost."
Dane Summerville of Weirton, W.Va., lost his sense of smell as a 3-year-old after falling down a flight of stairs. He said that doctors have told him that he can only taste about 10 percent of what the average person can.
"I'll eat pork and think it's chicken," he said. "I like things that are strong. I love buttermilk -- I can live on buttermilk."
Mr. Summerville bases much of his appreciation for food on its texture, he said, noting that he'll gag on beef fat but inhales cottage cheese. "Your body gravitates toward something you can understand," he said.
It's not uncommon for people who lose their sense of smell to have swings in their weight, said Dr. Doty. Some find food so dull that they stop eating as much or as often, while others graze all day in hopes of regaining some of the pleasure associated with eating.
For some people, a sudden loss of the ability to smell can prove life-altering. "Some people literally become very despondent," said Dr. Doty, describing patients who no longer like to go hiking or go to the beach because they miss the smell of pine cones or the sea breeze.
On a more practical level, those without a sense of smell are vulnerable to a host of household dangers -- anything from being unaware of a fire to unknowingly ingesting spoiled milk.
"We just advise them to be very careful, especially if they live alone," said Dr. Cowart. In addition to the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that everyone should have in their homes, those with anosmia should also purchase natural gas detectors.
Mr. Summerville relies on his wife as a safety check as much as possible, asking her to stick around for a few minutes after he turns on the furnace to make sure that everything is venting properly.
Just recently, a motor in his refrigerator burned up without him knowing it, he said, and his wife often has to let him know that the garbage stinks and needs to be taken out. When he drives alone, he cracks the window even in winter to make sure that he's not breathing exhaust fumes.
"I don't taste the spice but my eyes are going to water and I'm still going to sweat," he said. "I'm going to choke in a building that's on fire just like you are. I just won't smell the smoke."
Anya Sostek can be reached at asostek@post-gazette.com

Smell and memory are closely connected. "A smell can bring on a flood of memories, influence people's moods and even affect their work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously....When you first smell a new scent, you link it to an event, a person, a thing or even a moment. Your brain forges a link between the smell and a memory -- associating the smell of chlorine with summers at the pool or lilies with a funeral. When you encounter the smell again, the link is already there, ready to elicit a memory or a mood. Chlorine might call up a specific pool-related memory or simply make you feel content. Lilies might agitate you without your knowing why. This is part of the reason why not everyone likes the same smells. " http://health.howstuffworks.com/smell3.htm

Is it possible that I would remember a whole lot more from my past if I could smell? I don't think so. I'm not a great storyteller for how events unfold or the order of a joke but I do remember quite a bit from my childhood and I have a great short-term memory (bonus for university exams). There have been studies done, however, showing that memory paired with smell evokes more emotion than other memories. I don't have a smell associated with childhood birthdays or high school lockers or camping. I remember them but could I be missing out on the feeling of them? Should I care? I don't really care because I've come to terms with not being able to smell but I think it's an interesting question. Am I a less emotional person because everytime I inhale, it's the same? Am I more able to deal with challenge or emtional events because I have one less thing that will trigger emotion?

My city is on strike...lots of services have been suspended and summer is not what it should be. The strike is not a garbage strike however understandably, garbage and daycare are the 2 hotbutton issues. So what does a garbage strike seem like for someone who cannot smell? It's basically about visual changes. The McDonald's cups lying on top of the sealed (and unsealed by the public) garbage bins. The rotting bags of garbage piled in temporary sites. The excessive amount of recycling taking up space in my apartment. To me the city and my own living spaces feel full. It is amazing how much we accumulate and get rid of in 2 weeks time and although I think it is a good eye opener for us to take a look at our consumption, I think that the frustrations of most will generally outweigh any positive benefits that we can get from taking a moment to think about what happens to our garbage and how much of it there is.

In another life, I could have been a garbage person. I have always thought about what kinds of jobs I would be really good at. Garbage person, sewage diver, maybe working somewhere with overpowering smells like the Zoo or a paint factory. I even posted a Craigslist ad last year asking the world how to put my 'talent' to better use. I got no replies. Maybe my life as a non-smelling income generator is not to be...but I haven't given up yet. Any ideas?

Poo Alley

In my first post I mentioned something about poo alley. I lived in Varanasi, India for 6 months a few years ago. It was a shocking, magical, life questioning, uncomfortable, colourful and delicious experience. But I think I missed a really important part of the experience. I've heard the smells in India are strong, intense and often overpowering. Based on my other senses, this is what I imagine to be true. I imagine that the smells are like the constant movement of people, the haphazard living situations, the permeation of religion into everyday life, the communal bathing areas, the early morning prayers on the banks of the Ganges and the women's colourful clothes. The smells, good and bad, must permeate through people's lives. Here we seal ourselves away from the natural world, sometimes trying to bring in pleasant scents through air fresheners, flowers or incense. I, of course, rely on visitors to the apartment to tell me that it smells like last night's dinner.

It is very common in India, at least where I was, for cow dung to be shaped into patties, dried and used for fuel. This is a readily available and cheap source of fuel. Near where I lived, there was a alley where the patties were stuck to the wall to dry. My co-workers and I dubbed it poo alley. Luckily for me, I could simply admire the creative and traditional ways people use the world around them rather than having to plug my nose.

smelless foodie

The inevitable question I get when I tell someone I can't smell is "can you taste?". I used to find the question annoying because I love food so much that it was obvious to me- and therefore should be to others- that I can taste. But as I got older and really thought about it, I realized that I can really only taste the major 'taste' sensations: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy (which is a pain receptor, not a taste) and maybe umami:
"Taking its name from Japanese, umami is a pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. As the taste of umami itself is subtle and blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavours, most people don’t recognise umami when they encounter it, but it plays an important role making food taste delicious." http://www.umamiinfo.com/what_exactly_is_umami?/ (yes, there is an Umami Information Centre as well as a Umami Summit)
Perhaps I have an over-capacity to taste umami and that is why I enjoy food so much even though I can't identify subtle flavours. So for example, I would have a hard time telling you that something has a vanilla flavour, or what kind of spice was used in the chicken dish, or that I enjoyed the hint of rosemary on the mashed potatoes. I think I base a lot of what I like and dislike on texture. I hate green beans from the can but I can eat green beans lightly fried with salt and pepper. But I love food, not all food was created equal, and I aspire to being a smelless foodie....if only I cooked more for myself.
For most people, if they have a bad cold which affects their sense of smell, they might find food to be bland. It's true that according to some studies (or at least the first item that popped up in Google), that up to 75% of what we taste actually comes from our sense of smell. So basically, I've taken the 25% and made it 100%. I'm okay with that. My friends and family can tell you that my appetite is just fine.
But there are challenges. Wine, for example, is something I struggle with...I like wine....I like the feeling I get with wine....I can tell a dry wine...but I can't tell you what flavours are in a wine...I can't get a real picture of what a real wine lover is tasting. But bring on the wine...

For more info you could check out http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0608-why_i_hate_anchovies.htm

blind in the nose

I decided to write a blog focused on my total lack of a sense of smell (known as anosmia in clinical-speak). My ‘disability’ provides no end of random comments, stories and just plain old curiosities in how I have adapted my being 'smelless' in a smelling person’s world. Plus, I want to find an outlet to force myself to write more and I know I will only do it if I think others might just happen to read it. So here’s to all the anosmiacs out there...cheers to looking mystified when co-workers say your office smells funny, to throwing food out just in case it has gone bad, to burning a Guinness record amount of cookies and to being able to take the garbage out like it’s a bag of freshly laundered clothes.

My mother was initially convinced that I lost my sense of smell after falling off the changetable at a young age. It is true that many people have their smell affected through brain injury. Yes, it could be that this is the case (sorry mom...I don't blame you) but more likely I was born with congenital anosmia. I like to describe it to people as being blind in my nose. I only have 4 senses....and no, I wasn't even blessed with hyper-sight, touch, hearing or taste. The best question I've ever been asked is 'can you breathe?'!!

It's a bit of a downer to say that I've never smelled fresh flowers or bread, a favourite perfume, the scent of a partner or had the pleasure of getting a whiff of some nasty body odour. For all of the bad smells that I get to live without, I also get to live without the good ones. I don't have any smell memories. I also don't have the best memory. I always wondered if my memory would be better if I could associate smells with certain times/life experiences. But my life is pretty good, I can't complain and we all adapt...that's what we do.

"The smells that surround us affect our well-being throughout our lives. Smells also retain an uncanny power to move us. A whiff of pipe tobacco, a particular perfume, or a long-forgotten scent can instantly conjure up scenes and emotions from the past. Many writers and artists have marveled at the haunting quality of such memories. The average human being, it is said, can recognize up to 10,000 separate odors. We are surrounded by odorant molecules that emanate from trees, flowers, earth, animals, food, industrial activity, bacterial decomposition, other humans. In "A Natural History of the Senses", poet Diane Ackerman notes that it is almost impossible to explain how something smells to someone who hasn't smelled it. There are names for all the pastels in a hue, she writes — but none for the tones and tints of a smell." From: The Mystery of Smell http://www.hhmi.org/senses/d/d110.htm

I intend to use this space to try to articulate the different thoughts, experiences and ways of living without a sense of smell. I want to ask my friends and family to comment on any stories they may remember. upcoming...poo alley in India, smoke alarms at university, sensing pheremones, my sense of taste...