Smell Of Mold When I Inhale Through Nose. Any Ideas What This Is?

Posted on Fri, 20 Jan 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 Answered on

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, I have a problem , when I breath in threw my nose , I have a smell of mold or mildew when I inhale or blow my nose, I know it’s not in my home(smell) because i can go to other places and still smell it even at work. Any ideas on what this is or caused by and any kind of treatment? Since I have this smell "feeling" I cannot smell anything even Vicks VapoRub and I cannot taste any food…

Answered by Dr. James M. Schwartz (11 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for your query.

There are not many medical conditions that would cause the symptoms you describe. As you may know, molds, mildew fungi and yeast are all in the same family. I must wonder therefore if you have a fungal sinus infection. Any underlying medical conditions that could make your immune system less robust than normal, taking chronic antibiotics or taking nasal steroids would increase your risk for a fungal sinus infection. A person with a fungal sinus infection might or might not experience nasal congestion. However, lack of taste or smell would be consistent with a sinus infection. Therefore, it is wise to visit your family doctor to see whether this is a possibility.

I hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer your follow up queries. If you are satisfied with all my answer, please do not forget to accept it.

Best regards,
Dr. Schwartz

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T