Radio Hyperosmia Hour or The Nose Knows
Approximately 60 minutes into this week’s program (click play above), as the Radio Happy Hour was seemingly wrapping up, a listener named Virgie called in.
Though she took the (very) long way around, Virgie informed us of a rare medical condition she was suffering from: Hyperosmia
To prove just how incredibly out of the ordinary Hyperosmia must be, consider this: I was unable to even find a listing for it on the hypochondriac porn site WebMD!
But, as explained by the self described “stub” of an article on Wikipedia, Hyperosmia is an increased ability to smell – for example, being able to identify the perfume of the previous occupant of a chair. It is seen in patients with cluster headaches, migraines, and adrenal cortical insufficiency.
In layman’s terms, Virgie has super smelling abilities. But if the once quality television show Heroes has taught us anything it’s that super powers sometimes can cause more harm than good.
Virgie can’t clean her house without getting sick from the fumes, has to bathe and wash herself several times a day and must steer clear of men who have eaten Mexican Food within 24 hours. Virgie is also able to identify woman who are menstruating just by using her acute olfactory senses.
Olfactory–>
Very Old Factory–>
In an email from another Hyperosmia sufferer, Raechelle Marsh says of Virgie and their shared condition:
First, I think maybe the woman needs to cut down on her valium, or whatever it is she may be drinking with the valium
Poor woman. She does, however, sound very “genuine” about her condition. I can sympathize with the pain of cleaning products.
I’ve never been formally diagnosed with hyperosmia; I ran across the term when composing the blogpost about my acute sense of smell (a friend once told me I had super smell). It’s not a debilitating condition for me; it just makes me high maintenance. I need to request unscented massage oils or ask my sweetie if we can get a different handsoap for the bathroom because the smells are just too strong. People at work thought I was crazy because I kept asking if they were smelling vinegar. Come to find, film (including xray film) emits a vinegar-like odor when it starts to break down, and there were a few boxes of film in the office next to mine. N o one else could smell it, though.
And yes, much like a bloodhound, the acute sense of smell comes in handy. I can smell when my harddrive at work gets too hot, and when milk is too close to it’s expiration date. So I got that goin’ for me.
Renowned BlogTalkRadio Physician Host “Doctor Anonymous” had this to say about Hyperosmia: “Vergie is right in 
that doctors don’t know much about this condition other than it is a heightened sense of smell.
My advice to Vergie would be to continue to get the word out on Hyperosmia so that we can find a treatment so that she can get better.”
He added, “In my reading, I didn’t find that it’s caused by a brain tumor or worsened by smoking or soaps or detergents. It is associated with migraine headaches and also some psychiatric conditions.”
Who says the Radio Happy Hour isn’t educational? (rhetorical question)
Incidentally, below are two previous DrBlogstein.com entries that I’d ask Virgie (and Raechelle) not to visit:
Discussion: Rank the Reek
Discussion: Order the Oder
November 14th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Thanks for educating us Dr. Nostril-domus…Jokingly I suffer from this when my kids take off their shoes. Seriously I hope they come up with a cure soon.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
For Virgie’s sake, yes, I hope they come up with a cure. But for the sake of the show, I wouldn’t mind a few more “hyperosmiac” calls from Virgie.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Having worked in the technology sector for several years now I feel that I can speak for my fellow technicians and engineers when I say that we could corner the market on preventive hard drive failure if we could employ a handful of these super smellers…
First I would need some full body color glossy nudes and maybe a black and white for that classic look.
May the power of Huey Lewis compel you!
January 5th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Yes friends thanks for all the feedback. If you google hyperosmia you will most definately find it’s there. There are Doctors that study this condition. It is horrific living through this experience I have had hyperosmia for a long time, and when you have it one thing you will suffer are headaches, cleaning supplies gives you headaches, soaps, perfumes,oil, coffee, chimney smoke, and so much more it is very over-whelming. I don’t take offense in others joking about it because unless you suffer whether it’s cancer, diabetes, hypertension, or hyperosmia it takes a team effort to get us well and off and running again. Because trust me if it were you it would be no joke and by the way my next book will be What is Hyperosmia and Why don’t Doctors know about it, sure to be a best seller, if anyone need information on this rare condition please email me through Blogstein show and sorry for the vailium incident Mr. Blogstein but I am not one that likes to be drugged up, I fight natural sleep all the time so that is what I was doing fighting sleep! God bless you and thanks for posting this, just know I need your prayers just as it was your mother, father, child, friend or you going through an almost unbelievable illness!
January 5th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
More info about hyperosmia it also comes from migraine and cluster headaches, head injury, hysteria, and secondary cigarette smoke, you do become very nauseated as well I will continue to post things about hyperosmia.
Clinical synopsis
Recently, three of our female psoriatic patients, ages 19, 32, and 39, complained of a noticeable increased sensation of smell (i.e., hyperosmia) in association with severe nausea during the days following low-dose (10-25 mg weekly) MTX injection. They were not receiving other systemic drugs except folic acid (1 mg daily). They claimed that the injections made them more sensitive to smell, especially those with alcoholic ingredients and fragrances. They insisted that they had not such sensation before starting MTX. Approximately 48 hours after the injections this odd feeling gradually terminates. One of the patients, the youngest, preferred to discontinue MTX in spite of satisfying clinical response. Interestingly, all three of these patients had a history of migraine headaches.
Disscusion
As Schiller states, osphresiology (the sum of knowledge regarding odors and the sense of smell), although beginning with Aristotle, played a relatively modest role compared to other sensory functions. The anatomical and physiological connections of the nose to the brain proved to be more complex than those of sight, hearing and even touch [1].
Sensory hyperexcitablitity is considered to be a possible pathophysiological mechanism in migraine. This hyperexcitability state is frequently manifested by osmophobia and olfactory stimuli have a known role in eliciting the attacks of migraine [2, 3].
Drug-induced hyperosmia has been previously reported in association with levamisole [4, 5], but to the best of my knowledge, this side effect has not been reported following the use of MTX. Neurological toxicity from MTX is not uncommon and may manifest in a variety of ways, including headache, emesis, blurred vision, dizziness, and mood alteration. These adverse effects, however, are exceedingly rare at the doses used in the treatment of psoriasis. Recently, Handa et al. reported two cases of excessive drowsiness as monosymptomatic neurotoxicity attributed to low-dose MTX in psoriatic patients [6]. Hyperosmia could be considered as another neurotoxic manifestation of MTX and probably is a more common event in patients who also suffer from migraine.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
I believe most people with hyperosmia hate it, but I love it and rely on it everyday. For many years I thought it was normal but eventually realized it is not. Unfortunately as I get older it’s getting more and more normal every day and now I fell somewhat handicapped. I’ve been relying on it since I was a born, and I feel somewhat off with the lessening of it’s effects. It’s like slowly loosing my ability to use a limb or an eye. I want to know how to keep it and not loose it with age. All I can find online is ways to treat it. Why is it treated like its a problem? Maybe we’re evolving. Why stop evolution? Yes I can smell when women are menstruating as well as sexually aroused. I think this is a good thing. As a man the ability to narrow down potential mates for a night is great and completely natural. I’m asking for help to keep it. Any suggestion?
June 14th, 2010 at 1:12 am
A Great write up, I will be sure to bookmark this in my Reddit account. Have a great evening.
July 25th, 2010 at 4:15 am
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