What does it mean if I can smell burning but no one else can?

Author: Pattie Cronin  |  Last update: Friday, May 2, 2025

Phantosmia may be caused by a head injury or upper respiratory infection. It also can be caused by aging, trauma, temporal lobe seizures, inflamed sinuses, brain tumors, certain medicines and Parkinson's disease. Phantosmia also can result from a COVID-19 infection.

Why do I smell burning but no one else does?

Phantosmia refers to detecting smells that aren't really there. It's a symptom of many common conditions, including allergies, colds and upper respiratory infections. It could also indicate a brain-related condition, including epilepsy, stroke or Alzheimer's disease.

What is smelling burning a symptom of?

Phantosmia, which involves smelling phantom smells such as burnt toast, may indicate an underlying medical condition. Researchers have found links between the condition and several medical conditions, including head injuries, brain tumors, schizophrenia, upper respiratory tract infections, and sinusitis.

Can a brain tumor cause you to smell smoke?

Smelling smoke, or experiencing phantom smells that are not actually present, can be a symptom associated with certain types of brain tumors. These olfactory hallucinations, known as phantosmia, can occur when a tumor affects the brain regions responsible for processing smell signals.

What does it mean if I have a burning smell in my nose?

If you have phantosmia, the odors can vary from smells that almost make you sick to really pleasant scents. But most people with phantosmia tend to detect bad smells. The odors have been described as “burned," "foul," "rotten," "sewage," or "chemical." You may be smelling it from one or both of your nostrils.

Nurse Alice on KTLA: Phantom Smells

Why do I keep smelling smoke when there is none?

The term for this type of olfactory hallucination is dysosmia. Common causes of dysosmia are head and nose injury, viral damage to the smell system after a bad cold, chronic recurrent sinus infections and allergy, and nasal polyps and tumors. The brain is usually not the source.

Why is my nose burning inside?

A burning sensation in the nose may result from inflammation or irritation brought about by an infection or allergic reaction. Besides burning in the nose, a person may experience irritation or itching in the eyes, throat, or sinuses.

What are 6 warning signs of a brain tumor?

Brain Tumors in Children: 8 Warning Signs You Should Know
  • 1: Headache. Many children with a brain tumor experience headaches before their diagnosis. ...
  • 2: Nausea and Vomiting. ...
  • 3: Sleepiness. ...
  • 4: Vision, Hearing or Speech Changes. ...
  • 5: Personality Changes. ...
  • 6: Balance Problems. ...
  • 7: Seizures. ...
  • 8: Increased Head Size.

Do you smell smoke before a stroke?

While strokes may cause unusual sensory issues such as changes to taste and smell, smelling burned toast is not a reliable indicator. B. Balance, eyesight, face, arms, speech, time. Balance changes, sudden difficulty seeing, numbness or weakness in the face and arms, and slurred speech are all common signs of stroke.

Can anxiety cause phantom smells?

Anxiety can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including phantom smells (phantosmia or olfactory hallucinations). Many people with anxiety report smelling odd smells that other people do not smell.

Is a burning smell normal?

It just means there's dust in your heating unit, which is harmless and should burn off quickly. If you smell an electrical burning smell, on the other hand, this is not normal at all. It could be a sign of a serious electrical issue that could lead to a fire.

What do you smell before a seizure?

Menthone has been identified as the dominant constituent of seizure-scented sweat. Canines were unable to distinguish between fear-scented and seizure-scented sweat. Menthone may be an important pre-ictal biomarker of pending seizure. We believe we are the first to identify menthone as a human alarm pheromone.

Can high blood pressure cause phantom smells?

Conclusions: Stroke, angina, congestive heart failure, well-managed high blood pressure, and well-managed high cholesterol are associated with phantom odor perception. Vascular or metabolic conditions or their treatments may contribute to reporting of phantom odor perception.

Can stress cause you to smell smoke?

While OSI, compared to OS, demonstrated only a trend increase in objective odor detection of a smoke-like, but not rose-like, odor, further analysis revealed that increased detection of that smoke-like odor was positively correlated with anxiety sensitivity.

What illness can make you smell bad?

A person with kidney failure may have breath that smells like ammonia or urine. Serious liver disease can make breath smell musty or like garlic and rotten eggs. Compounds that are transported through the blood can also be released through your sweat glands. That can make your armpits and skin smell bad.

Does phantosmia go away?

Smelling things that aren't there is called phantosmia. It can be unpleasant and affect how things taste. But it isn't usually serious and may go away by itself in a few weeks or months. See your GP if the strange smell doesn't go away in a few weeks.

Why do I keep smelling a burnt smell?

Phantosmia is when a person smells something that is not actually there. The smells vary between individuals but are usually unpleasant, such as burnt toast, metallic, or chemical smells. Possible causes range from nasal polyps to a stroke. Phantosmia is also called a phantom smell or an olfactory hallucination.

What do they say you smell before you have a stroke?

One of the most prevalent myths is that smelling burnt toast indicates a stroke. However, there's no substantial evidence linking phantom smells directly to stroke occurrences. In reality, you might experience phantosmia—perceiving smells that aren't there—due to other factors like sinus issues or migraines.

What are the warning signs of a stroke?

Signs and symptoms
  • Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.

What is a red flag for a brain tumor?

Red flags include severe and frequent headaches, seizures, vision problems, difficulty speaking, cognitive and memory issues, numbness or weakness on one side of the body, sudden personality changes, coordination difficulties, and hearing problems.

What does early brain tumor feel like?

You may feel drowsy, confused and unable to think. Depression and anxiety, especially if either develops suddenly, may be an early symptom of a brain tumor. You may become uninhibited or behave in ways you never have before.

What are the warning signs of a seizure?

General symptoms or warning signs of a seizure can include:
  • Staring.
  • Jerking movements of the arms and legs.
  • Stiffening of the body.
  • Loss of consciousness.
  • Breathing problems or stopping breathing.
  • Loss of bowel or bladder control.
  • Falling suddenly for no apparent reason, especially when associated with loss of consciousness.

How to tell if sinus infection has spread to the brain?

Signs and symptoms that may indicate a sinus infection has spread to the brain may include the following:
  1. severe headache.
  2. fever.
  3. flu-like symptoms.
  4. nausea or vomiting.
  5. vision changes, such as double vision.
  6. neck stiffness.
  7. sensitivity to bright light.
  8. change in mental status.

Why is my throat and nose burning?

Viruses or strep throat typically cause throat inflammation that can cause a burning sensation. Post-nasal drip, acid reflux, mono, esophagitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, and gonorrhea can also lead to a burning throat. Rarely, so can throat cancer.

What is rhinopathy?

Not all nasal symptoms of nasal congestion, drainage and obstruction are caused by inflammatory conditions of the nose. Noninflammatory nasal conditions are best classified as rhinopathy, while inflammatory nasal conditions are called rhinitis.

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