anosmia
Also known as inability to smell, loss of smell, smell blindness, odor blindness, noseblindneaa
Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the lack of ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Anosmia
- Medical condition (new).synonym
- Loss of smell, smell blindness, odor blindness
- Medical condition (new).image
- Anosmia.jpg
- Medical condition (new).alt
- A side view anatomical drawing of the nasal sinuses depicting inflamed mucosa
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Inflamed nasal mucosa causing anosmia
- Medical condition (new).specialty
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Medical condition (new).types
- Partial, total
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
5,460 papers~10 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Causes
- COVID-19-related anosmia
- Decision-making in COVID-19 patients
- Possible causes
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Famous people with anosmia
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the lack of ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.
Anosmia can be categorized into acquired anosmia and congenital anosmia. Acquired anosmia develops later in life due to various causes, such as upper respiratory infections, head trauma, or neurodegenerative diseases. In contrast, congenital anosmia is present from birth and is typically caused by genetic factors or developmental abnormalities of the olfactory system. While acquired anosmia may have potential treatments depending on the underlying cause, such as medications or surgery, congenital anosmia currently has no known cure, and management focuses on safety precautions and coping strategies.