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- Avoidance of known allergens is the recommended treatment, but if this is not possible, antihistamines, decongestants, and nasal sprays may help alleviate symptoms.
www.medicinenet.com/bad_taste_in_mouth_nasal_congestion_and_strange_smell_or_taste/multisymptoms.htmBad Taste In Mouth, Nasal Congestion And Strange Smell Or Taste
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Jan 31, 2024 · Find out about sinusitis, including the symptoms, how to treat it yourself, how a pharmacist can help, when to see a GP and the treatments they may recommend.
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Treating the cause might help. For example, steroid nasal sprays or drops might help if you have sinusitis or nasal polyps. Sometimes changes in sense of smell cannot be treated and may be permanent.
- Overview
- Nasal polyps
- Sinus infection
- Postnasal drip
- Tooth decay
- Tonsil stones
- Phantosmia
- Chronic kidney disease
- COVID-19-related parosmia
- When to see a doctor
Several conditions may cause a foul smell in your nose, such as nasal polyps, sinus infection, and postnasal drip. A doctor can make a diagnosis and recommend the best treatment.
Almost every day, at least one bad smell finds its way into your nostrils. However, what about bad smells that emanate from your nose?
A variety of health conditions may trigger a rotten smell in your nose. Fortunately, most of these foul fragrances are temporary and not signs of a life threating condition.
That said, you may need to have a healthcare professional examine your sinuses and throat for proper treatment.
Nasal polyps are soft, noncancerous growths shaped like teardrops. They may form on the wall of your nasal cavity or sinuses as a result of chronic inflammation.
Sometimes, you may experience a rotten smell in your nose. This is due to fluid buildup inside the polyps, which comes from the damp lining of your mucous membrane.
Other, more common symptoms of nasal polyps may include:
•decreased sense of smell and taste
•runny nose
•stuffy nose
Sinus infections, also known as sinusitis, can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi.
Symptoms of sinusitis may include:
•yellow or green nasal discharge
•congested nose
•swelling, pain, and tenderness around your cheeks, forehead, and eyes
•headache
Smelly mucus in the nose, especially when it thickens and drips incessantly down the back of your throat, is a sign of postnasal drip.
Normally, mucus helps:
•keep your nasal membranes healthy
•respond to infections
•humidify the air you inhale
•keep foreign particles out of your airways
Tooth decay happens when bacteria collects on a tooth and eats away at the surface. This bacteria buildup may cause bad breath and a bad smell to come through your nose.
Good oral hygiene, which includes brushing your teeth and flossing daily, is the best way to prevent tooth decay and tooth and gum problems.
Your tonsils include crevices and folds that can trap:
•saliva
•mucus
•food particles
•dead cells
Sometimes the debris can harden into tiny objects called tonsil stones. Bacteria can feed on tonsil stones, sometimes generating a bad smell in your mouth and nose.
Phantosmia is a hallucination of your olfactory system. This means you smell odors that aren’t there, but you think they’re in your nose or somewhere around you.
Phantosmia can develop after a respiratory infection or a head injury. Conditions like Parkinson’s disease, brain tumors, or inflamed sinuses may also trigger phantom smells in your nose.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive loss of kidney function.
Your kidneys are responsible for filtering waste products from your blood, which are then excreted in urine. If the kidneys aren’t functioning well, waste materials may build up in the body.
These materials may produce an ammonia-like smell that you could notice in your breath and the taste in your mouth. As a result, you may also have an ammonia-like smell in the back of your nose.
This development usually occurs only after CKD has advanced to stage 4 or stage 5.
A loss of smell is a symptom of COVID-19.
However, the authors of a 2022 article suggest that some people may even experience a distorted sense of smell. This condition is known as parosmia.
Examples of parosmia may include food smelling bad or perceiving cigarette smoke in a house despite there being no history of smoking.
This condition could gradually worsen, which may have severe health implications. For example, the authors suggest that some people perceive food as smelling rotten. This may then lead to someone eating much less.
COVID-19-related parosmia may occur 3 months after the initial viral infection. The parosmia may be caused by alterations that occur as damaged olfactory receptors regenerate after a loss of smell.
There isn’t a single treatment for COVID-19-related parosmia. However, a healthcare professional may recommend olfactory training therapy.
Speak with a healthcare professional if:
•the bad smell in your nose lasts for more than 1 week
•you frequently experience a bad smell in your nose
•you experience other symptoms, such as facial swelling, nasal obstruction, blurred vision, and headache
- James Roland
A GP may suggest trying treatments for catarrh that you can get from a pharmacist, like decongestant medicines and salt water nose rinses. If your catarrh is caused by nasal polyps, a GP may prescribe steroid spray or nose drops. If these do not work, surgery may be needed to remove the polyps.
Feb 16, 2024 · Causes of a bad smell in the nose include sinusitis, mouth or tooth infections, and certain foods and drinks. Learn more about what might cause a bad smell in the nose, and...
- Jennifer Huizen
May 19, 2024 · by Natalie Healey. Ear, nose and throat. Nasal congestion is a blocked, stuffy or bunged-up feeling in the nose. This leaflet deals with the causes and treatment of nasal congestion. by Dr Pippa Vincent, MRCGP. Like taste, smell is a chemical sense.
May 10, 2021 · 9. Bad breath. The mucus associated with a sinus infection may have a bad odor, which can cause smelly breath or a bad taste in the mouth. 10. Tooth pain
