In the hit Chinese TV series “In Living Color”, the hero Ning Zhiyuan is a young man with “wealth” and good looks, but the beauty is that his nose can’t smell anything. Does this phenomenon really exist in real life?
There are four factors for the nose not to smell.
Firstly, the nose is blocked.
Secondly, the olfactory nerve is damaged.
Thirdly, there is an unknown lesion in the brain.
The fourth is a psychological problem”.
The reasons why the nose cannot smell anything are mainly grouped into three categories.
1, the most common is inflammation of the nose, referred to as rhinitis. In the clinical diagnosis, rhinitis is divided into allergic rhinitis, acute rhinitis, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis and so on. The more typical is that when a person has a cold, due to the blockage of the nose, the air cannot enter the olfactory area through the nostrils, so that the substances in the air cannot be dissolved in the mucosal secretions of the olfactory area, no chemical changes occur, and the olfactory nerve endings cannot be stimulated, so naturally the nose cannot smell anything.
2, the second type is the nasal cavity is long nasal polyps or even tumors, the smell area to block.
Nasal polyps are actually the result of long-term inflammatory reaction of nasal mucosa causing tissue edema. It mostly originates from the sinus opening of the middle nasal tract, the nasal tract complex and the septal sinus, and is formed by the highly edematous nasal mucosa from the middle nasal tract, sinus opening to the nasal cavity, which expands and droops. Whether it is a nasal polyp or a tumor, due to its presence, it can cause narrowing of the nasal tract and therefore may cause symptoms such as nasal congestion and lack of ventilation, which in turn leads to the inability of odors to contact with the olfactory area.
3. Thirdly, tumors in the brain may compress the olfactory function area of both hemispheres or trauma to the brain may damage the olfactory function area. Director Li said that the olfactory function area is a “code unlocker” that exists in the human brain to process odor information through the conduction function of neurons. Because of the complexity of the brain, it is usually necessary to take a film to detect abnormalities.
Where is the olfactory area? The olfactory zone is located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, above the plane of the superior turbinate and above the transverse folds of the nasal septum, and is rich in bipolar olfactory cells that perceive olfactory stimuli. It is a region inside the nasal cavity, in the upper part of the nasal bridge.
The “right remedy” according to the cause and degree of nasal dysfunction
In clinical medicine, there is a technical term for nose dysfunction called “olfactory disorder”. Depending on the degree, there are three types of olfactory disorders, namely, loss of smell, hyposmia and abnormal smell.
In the process of diagnosis and treatment, it is necessary to take into account the cause and degree of the nose disorder to prescribe the right medicine.
In the case of rhinitis, the treatment varies due to the complexity and variety of causes. Therefore, when you feel nasal discomfort, it is important to visit the otorhinolaryngology department of a regular hospital in a timely manner. Through routine nasal examination and symptom analysis, the condition will be diagnosed and then the corresponding treatment will be carried out, such as saline rinsing of the nasal cavity and corresponding anti-inflammatory drugs to assist in the treatment of the disease to reduce the possibility of recurrent attacks.
If the nasal polyp grows on the surface of the olfactory area in the nasal cavity, it needs to be surgically cut. Generally speaking, if you pay attention to cleanliness and diet after surgery, you can usually have the sense of smell again.
In addition, if there is a tumor in the olfactory region of the nose, although the tumor can be removed, the sense of smell can never be restored, which is also a regret of modern medicine.
Regarding the damage to the olfactory function area, due to the complexity of the brain, there is no clear characterization of the olfactory function area for the time being, but it is certain that there is an inevitable connection with the nervous system, and the medical field is still conducting research and observation on this function area.
Failure to cure the cold in time is an important factor leading to nose failure, so the cold needs to be taken seriously and must be treated in time.