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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Phantom Smells?

All day I have kept getting times when I smell something like paint around my house. No one else smells it. I have never had this symptom before. I have some sinus congestion. Am allergic to my dusty house. Possibly developing diabetes. Am 5 ft tall and weigh 270lbs. Am 68 yr old woman. Have hx of epilepsy; no seizures in more than 10 years. Have migraines several times a week. No new medications have been prescribed. Do I need to worry about the smells?
Thu, 16 Nov 2017
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Anesthesiologist,  's  Response
hi madam,you have done a great job by giving an elaborated case history.these phantom smells are called olfactory hallucinations.causes are after a head injury,after respiratory infection especially upper tract,presence of inflamed or congested sinuses.in the above cases,these are self limitting and you need not worry much.but some other serious causes include brain tumours,temporal lobe seizures.it may also be a symptom of aura before migraine.as you have a history of both seizures and migraine,so we can attribute phantom smells to any of these.you need to aim at reducing the number of attacks of migraine.if your symptoms persist,you can consult a neurologist.if any other issues,i'm always ready to address.thank you.take care.bye.
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What Causes Phantom Smells?

hi madam,you have done a great job by giving an elaborated case history.these phantom smells are called olfactory hallucinations.causes are after a head injury,after respiratory infection especially upper tract,presence of inflamed or congested sinuses.in the above cases,these are self limitting and you need not worry much.but some other serious causes include brain tumours,temporal lobe seizures.it may also be a symptom of aura before migraine.as you have a history of both seizures and migraine,so we can attribute phantom smells to any of these.you need to aim at reducing the number of attacks of migraine.if your symptoms persist,you can consult a neurologist.if any other issues,i m always ready to address.thank you.take care.bye.