Heightened sense of smell

I talk about my over sensitive sense of smell, and show you a mask I bought recently to help me deal with it. So far the mask has only helped a bit, and at 25 pounds it was probably largely a waste of money, but it does help to a small extent when a smell is making me very anxious. However, the mask is not very comfortable and so can only be warn for short periods at a time.
cambridgemask.com/

[@cauetron9509]

I got COVID earlier this year and I lost my sense of smell for about two weeks. My life tremendously improved in those two weeks. I leave my room / house without worrying about if it was lunch time, or if people were cooking dinner. I could eat with other people with so much easy. I really miss not sensing smells. I wish I could some sort of operation to reduce it to about 5%. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@karofarah]

After COVID my sense of smell increased

[@jamieerwin8351]

Yes I have issues with smell. I find air-freshener’s certain perfume, aftershaves also dairy products I can’t handle.Either I get a headache or feel nauseous and tired as a result. Even the same with bright lights. I have been in a car at night where I panicked over headlights even in resulting into forgetting where I am. Don’t have much of an issue with sound. But have under sensory issues as well.

[@wilburjones4084]

You sharing experiences like this lets me know I'm not alone. Thanks for that. I do have issues with sleep and once I hear traffic outside the anxiety kicks in, always. I find I'm fine once I get up and get moving with something in mind though, like I have some control over my day. I used to always listen to music or the radio as I fall asleep, now I listen to podcasts that I know are relaxing and dont have people shouting or getting too excited. Once you hear the same one a few times there is a familiarity there and its comforting. I've even tried sleep hypnosis podcasts, they can be quite relaxing too. One thing that bothers me but I never tell anyone,and try not to visibly react , is people sneezing , for obvious reasons, subconciously it tells us they are spreading their germs hah..but really we are immune to most of that so I try to not let it bother me. But when people cough alot, or if people are sickly , I dont like that and I know that sounds horrible, but if you start coughing your lungs up near me Im going to politely move away, far away..even if its just because you are a smoker, Im outa here. On smells, perfumes kinda bother me , it makes me anxious, but I can deal with it because something will always pop up to make me anxious and send those chemicals streaming through my body so you have to accept it. But smoking, man that's some nasty smell that makes me wince, but I try to hide it.

[@welcome12ization]

Thanks for sharing, I can relate to this. Yes, if someone starts sneezing, and particularly if I don't know why they're sneezing (i.e. whether it's just hay fever or if it's infectious), I will feel tense, and if I can I will remove myself as discreetly as possible.

[@dkj7179]

Yes, smells can be a big problem for me. And light. Those two are the most intense. Synthetic, artificial smells can be damn near intolerable. Things like cologne, perfume, soaps, detergents, many types of incense, etc. One that irks me lately is, accidentally buying the scented kitchen trash bags. I have to remove them from the house! Unusable! I truly would rather smell garbage. I can control those things in my house but out in public is another story. Shaking hands with someone and getting their cologne on me is a huge bummer. Repeated hand washing and you can still smell it! Or having them sit by you. Sometimes there’s no polite way to avoid those things. Or getting paper money change saturated with cologne, perfume…I get rid of it as soon as possible. Bright light often triggers ocular migraines and they’re really unpleasant. Does your mask have a filter you periodically change?

[@welcome12ization]

The filter is in the mask so for it to continue being effective in terms of filtering out pollution, I would have to change the mask every 6 months, but I don't think I will be replacing it. I will use it just for smells really. Also where I live, it's not too polluted so the filter might continue to work after 6 months. Funnily enough, with me, I'm okay with some perfumes, but I have to like them. However, most perfumes are worn way too strongly. A bugbear of mine is hand cream (yuk!), as it smells so synthetic. I hate it when people apply it in my company.

[@ShamrockNRoller]

I'm glad you're working on a way to get to a store that you really like. The pasta looks so good! I've never had chili pepper with spaghetti. I typically only eat bland food. Is it overpowering, or does it give it a subtle flavor to it? Like you, I internalize how I feel about things like bright lights and other sensory issues that I have. However, I cannot control how I react with noise. I've tried, but my reaction is impulsive. Someone honked their car horn while I was taking the garbage out this morning, and I flipped them off and ran inside, haha. I think the mask will have a lot of great uses, just maybe not day-to-day. I bet if you keep it around, you may find uses for it that may not seem evident right now. Weirdly, I don't think I have a sensitivity to smells (except smoke). In fact, my sense of smell might be fairly bad, because I can't think of many times it has affected me. So, it was really interesting to hear your views on it, since I don't have a firsthand experience with it.

[@welcome12ization]

I only used a tiny pinch of pepper so was subtle, not overpowering - I like subtle spice as a little goes further, I think. With noise, I do sometimes react impulsively, but usually when it occurs in my space. The reaction can include banging walls and jumping. I have been known to gesticulate wildly when very stressed outside though!

[@lisawanderess]

Gosh you were ahead of the curve buying that mask pre-pandemic hey? 😂

[@soniczforever5470]

I live next to a flat and I can smell what people are eating I can't stand strawberry ypghurt I've a nose like a bloodhound I find it distressing gives me a headache I don't get on with the person I'll run the fan everytime I see her. Burnt toast and salmon also hurt my head. I can't get rid of the smell. If ive a migraine I feel like crying. They're terrible

[@welcome12ization]

Sounds very hard.

[@haunteddreams7856]

It's cool that we have heightened senses but hearing too much too quickly or too much too loudly it really does make me angry it's like 10 people talking to you at the same time! Smells, my mum can open a drink and as soon as the lid pops OH MY GOD the smell it's awful it's so fruity and so strong and it really makes me uncomfortable. The normal person wouldn't have these problems and yeah I have to say I like being autistic but having heightened senses although sounds cool, it leads to a lot of issues

[@erikbongnilsson246]

Did you use a mask to mask smells even before they became common due to covid? Is there any smell that has the opposite effect, perhaps calm you down that you could spray or apply to the inside of the mask? I would be very interested to have your sense of smell quantified or somehow measured how big difference to the average persons sensitivity. Can you give any examples? For example could you identify things inside your fridge without opening the door, or what about products sealed in it's plastic packing, or even smell whats inside can food without looking at the label? Thanks

[@welcome12ization]

Interesting questions, I'm not sure my sense of smell is super specific, it's more that I find smell distracting. I didn't use masks before covid. I like the smell of cinnamon and some other spices, vanilla etc.

[@erikbongnilsson246]

@@welcome12ization Thanks for taking the time to answer! =)

[@newchannel-ey6cu]

Did you said that fires are antisocial ? lol People's gross perfumes are antisocial too !

[@welcome12ization]

I agree!. I wish people could be more subtle.

[@meme8540]

Have you used your mask since Covid arrived?

[@welcome12ization]

Strangely I haven't done. This may seem odd but the mask I bought was not a good one (too tight- a waste of money in the end!). It's currently gathering dust on my book shelf lol. Because of my OCD I'm currently housebound and have not worn a mask yet as have gone nowhere, but will wear one when I get vaccinated.

[@soniczforever5470]

@@welcome12ization I'd try this as I'm desperate not to smell everyone's lunch.

[@soniczforever5470]

Still think its q great idea buy I've migraines so deds on the day thanks.