Does swimming effect your sense of smell?
My wife and I recently had a lovely dinner with a person very knowledgable about wines. We are both wine lovers and appreciated his wonderful "wine lesson". However, when he got into the description of the wines in terms of berrys and oak and leather etc I had to stop him and say that I can sometimes detect a raisin taste or maybe even a blackberry taste but I have never been able to get any of those other subtle tastes that the wine experts use to describe wines.
So he asked me if I had sinus problems or something else that might effect my sense of smell. Well, the only thing I could think of was chlorine. Does anyone have any thoughts or information on wether 30 plus years of swimming and breathing that wonderful chlorine smell could have ruined or at least altered my sense of smell? If so I may go to exclusively drinking 2 Buck Chuck!!!
Glenn:)
Former Member
Sorry your thread wandered from the original question into enological drivel, but Ihave lost ability to smell lavender flowers, most of the herbs and spices in our kitchen, and those previously hideous ads for men's colognes folded into magazines. My otolaryngologist thinks it's due to exposure to chlorine. (Well, the pool I use uses bromine, but that's close enough.)
enological
I had to look that one up. These forums can be entertaining as well as educational.
Drivel
I knew that one. I didn't join forum until 2008, so you can't pin that one on me. Though I feel like I missed out....
I know.......... That stinks.
I think chronic exposure to the fumes and vapors found in a pool may indeed dull ones edge of scent. *I would also guess it's from inflammation, is temporary, but the irritation can decrease ones resistance to infection.
*Just my over-the-counter medically ignorant opinion
Years ago, I could smell when an intoxicated coach walked by the facility air intake vents maybe 50m away. When I am driving my car, windows rolled up, I can smell/get a headache if the occupants of the car in front of me are smoking (tobacco or other).
Yet I did not have a particularly sensitive palate - I could tell if a wine tasted like chewing a pencil (cabernet) or was fruity (sangria). Maybe if I had savored my beverages rather than slamming them I would be more discerning.
Are there any bacon-flavored wines? I would think that would be popular in my circle of friends.
I cannot smell most odors, my wife smells something then says can you smell that. It can be a wonderfull smell or something really bad, I just do not smell it good or bad. Some people just lose their sense of smell.
Try this link:
forums.usms.org/.../t-6818.html
When I googled "anosmia + chlorine" I found this:
journals.cambridge.org/.../displayAbstract;jsessionid=F1C7AA11D50CAC5511B77F3DB20C3A3D.tomcat1
Quote:
Chlorine gas is known to be a potent irritant to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs with severe exposure resulting in pulmonary oedema and even death. There have been no case reports, however, of chlorine inducing anosmia. We present such a case, along with a review of the literature on the toxicology of chlorine and its effect on the nose.
and there's this article:
www.robertabelllaw.com/.../Differential_Diagnosis_Evidence___Advocate_Article.pdf
Apparently there is some relation between anosmia and chlorine but this relation is rather obscure.
Do notice that the guy from the second article inhaled A LOT of chlorine so his case of intoxication is a bit different than ours.
There was very little info concerning this matter on the web, so either this isn't a common situation or the relation is not yet proven (which is a good sign either way)
