Monday 11 February 2019

olfaction

Reading this account of how one person’s loss of her sense of smell, partial recovery and dealing with dysosmia—though far from suffering in complete solitude (27ᵗʰ February is Anosmia Awareness Day sponsored by the UK charity The Fifth Sense, which advocates for people with smell and taste disorders), left her a sort of shut-in (now rehabilitated) and made us appreciate our noses and taste buds and the even the crudest, simplest bouquet for all its worth.
Not only does a deficit in smell affect diet, routine and hygiene—as well as potentially posing a safety risk bereft of certain warning signals—it also steals away associative, sentimental memories. The author’s determination wrestle back that blessing through training and exercise, despite the rather bleak prognosis, is admirable and we’ll by searching later for our old vials of essential oils—lemon, eucalyptus, rosewater and clove, we knew they would be useful again one of these days—and starting on a vigorous regiment.