Open AccessSense of smell disorders in family physician practice
Author(s) -
Piotr Rapiejko
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alergoprofil
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2544-5111
pISSN - 1734-7572
DOI - 10.24292/01.ap.172260521
Subject(s) - olfaction , medicine , nasal administration , nasal polyps , anosmia , disease , sinusitis , chronic rhinosinusitis , taste , nose , nasal discharge , olfactory system , taste disorder , dermatology , immunology , covid-19 , surgery , psychology , psychiatry , infectious disease (medical specialty) , neuroscience
A properly functioning sense of smell recognizes both food and danger and provides sensory input. Sense of smell is lost and/or impaired in diseases accompanied by impaired nasal patency such as chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps, allergic rhinitis, respiratory infections including acute rhinosinusitis. In the case of rhinosinusitis in adults, olfactory impairment is one of the four main symptoms of the disease. They can also be caused by damage to the olfactory neuron, e.g. in the course of a viral infection. Loss of smell and/or taste reported by patients with COVID-19 may be a diagnostic hint. Modern intranasal glucocorticosteroids are used to treat olfactory disturbances and loss of smell caused by nasal patency impairment (or accompanying diseases with nasal patency impairment).