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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / November 2005I smell things which are not there!
On a recent trip to high altitudes my nose bled and was dry and crusty. When I thought a cold was coming on I used !!Zicam-before I knew!!It got too far up my nose when I sneezed and burned. I tried Ocean but that burned too(Benzylkonium!!). After that I smelled something burning all the time with diminished taste/smell. I saw an ENT who endoscoped my nose in the office and said there was some slight inflammation. He prescribed the Medrol dose pack and said if it did not work to come back for sinus x-rays.This helped a lot. He also prescribed Bactroban ointment in my nose. When I read the package insert it did not recommend it for nasal use because it could dry the mucosa. It recommended the Bactroban nasal preparation. I did use it in the nose because I had a sore just in the nostril. I switched to pure saline and Ayr gel. I now have the smell less often. I plan to contact the doctor next week for follow up.I do not have mucus to speak of and my nose feels some pressure at times but getting better. I do not have hay fever or allergic symptoms ever. Can anyone relate? I don't know how long you have used Zicam. There have been some reports of people having problems using it such as bloody discharge, burning and some diminished sense of smell. So you may not want to use it in the future. I know this doesn't help now but thought I'd mention it. See this link: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/3300130/detail.html >I don't know how long you have used Zicam. There have been some reports of >people having problems using it such as bloody discharge, burning and some >diminished sense of smell. So you may not want to use it in the future. I >know this doesn't help now but thought I'd mention it. >....... Right several people who posted here have lost their sense of smell after taking Zicam. In some but not all, it did come back after a long time. So hopefully the original poster will regain a full normal sense of smell in time. As to smelling things that are not there, that is just the brain filling in the lack of smell with random memories, I think.. My taste seems pretty normal;the smell part is better than before;I no longer smell something burning/frying all the time. It seems to be getting better. As a medical professional I did not know about the Zicam/benzylkonium until I researched the net. I threw the stuff out but I honestly experienced improvement of cold symptoms with Zicam, as well as my husband. However the price for that is too high. I was wondering whether anyone WITHOUT pus in the nose and throat had this experience. > My taste seems pretty normal;the smell part is better than before;I no > longer smell something burning/frying all the time. It seems to be getting [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > experienced improvement of cold symptoms with Zicam, as well as my > husband. However the price for that is too high. > I was wondering whether anyone WITHOUT pus in the nose and throat had this > experience. I had the same thing happen after I started irrigating. I even asked one of my neighbors over to see if he smelled anything burning. He didn't smell anything, so I decided the house wasn't going to burn down. After a few days the smell went away and hasn't returned. This was about 10 years ago. > On a recent trip to high altitudes my nose bled and was dry and crusty. > When I thought a cold was coming on I used !!Zicam-before I knew!!It got [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > better. I do not have hay fever or allergic symptoms ever. Can anyone > relate? Yes, but the news ain't good. Zicam has been linked to long-term anosmia (loss of sense of smell). In my case, my sense of smell returned completely after about 6 months. With other folks, it's been permanent and they've been working on a class-action lawsuit against the company. Using Medrol to knock down the inflammation is a good idea. Frequent nasal irrigation will not only treat your cold, but also flush out any Zicam from your nasopharynx and help your nasal membranes heal. Be patient. It may take quite a while for you to recover completely. And NEVER use Zicam again. That stuff should be taken off the market.  SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. On 11/12/05 5:42 PM, in article aSwdf.967$c27.392@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net, "Steven L." <sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net> wrote: > When I read the package insert it did not recommend it for nasal use >> because it could dry the mucosa. It recommended the Bactroban nasal >> preparation The Bactroban ointment package insert says not for use in the nose. All the ENT doctors use it in the nose. The nasal prep is 2 -3 x more expensive last time I looked. The nasal Bactroban has a paraffin base instead of the dermatologic bactroban. The dermatologic contains polyethylene glycol. Not sure if that's wise to apply to a vascular rich area. There is a warning with the dermatologic not to apply to large areas of the skin.
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