Specific anosmia, or why I can’t smell farts February 27, 2008
Posted by Niels in : Life, the universe, and everything, Personal , trackbackWhat if you couldn’t smell your own farts? Would you consider it a disability, or a blessing in disguise?
I was about ten years old when I noticed I couldn’t smell. I remember walking through the woods at summer camp when other people began making faces. “Eww,” they said, “it smells like skunk!” But I could barely smell anything.
It’s not that my sense of smell is completely absent. Rather, there are certain odors that I’m not sensitive to. Mostly bad scents, fortunately.
For example, I often can’t smell farts. Again, it’s debatable whether or not this is a blessing in disguise, but I will say it’s a little unnerving to flatulate (is that a word?) and have no idea whether or not the people around me can smell it.
I used to just write this off as an interesting quirk, but over Christmas break I had the following conversation with my sister and her fiancé:
Fiancé: Watch out, I’m a little gassy today.
Me: Don’t worry about it, I can’t smell it anyway.
Sister: Wait, you don’t smell things either?
Me: What, you too?
Fiancé: Yeah, it’s great, she can use the bathroom right after me and it’s no problem.
Apparently fart-insensitivity is genetic. And so, having recently discovered one wacky congenital disability in myself (see my post I’m learning to live with faceblindness) I embarked on further research.
According to Wikipedia, anosmia is “the lack of olfaction, or an absence of the ability to smell”. I don’t have that - I can smell most things - but there is also specific anosmia, an insensitivity to a certain odor. And specific anosmia (aka selective anosmia, I think) may be genetically based. Winner!
Interestingly, it is just about impossible to describe the concept of an odor to someone who has never had a sense of smell. But there are support and advice forums available, where sad but hilarious stories are traded of anosmic life in a world of smellers. One unfortunate guy recalls trying to cover up the smell of an “accident” with a heavy application of cologne, not realizing that deodorant doesn’t actually cancel out odors. More information on anosmia can be found at the Anosmia Foundation, including links to purchase smell tests.
My handicap is far less serious, though apparently still an active area of research. I found one Nature article particularly interesting. The abstract for Odour-Blindness to Musk: Simple Recessive Inheritance states:
The rare anosmia to the n-butyl mercaptan of skunk, and more commonly the scent of freesia flowers, may be inherited as autosomal recessive traits.
So that’s it! Mystery solved! I’ve got a rare, genetic, specific anosmia to n-butyl mercaptan, or possibly some other mercaptan. Mercaptans, also known as thiols, are the volatile sulfurous compounds that give skunk its stink. And guess where else mercaptans can be found?
Dr. Ed Poliness has this to say on the subject: “Mercaptans are found in your smelliest farts”. Thank you for your frankness, Dr. Poliness. For further information on farts, readers may also contact Dr. Michael Levitt, the world’s leading authority on flatulence, according to this article. The article doesn’t mention mercaptans, but it’s an entertaining read anyway.
There are less obvious effects, as well. Anyone who has traveled in Asia is familiar with the durian, a gourmet fruit widely regarded as delicious, but with a scent so foul it is banned from the premises of many airports and luxury hotels. The mercaptans in durian likely explain why I am the only person my mom has ever heard of who likes the smell of durian but not the taste.
Comments»
To be honest, I don’t think your missing out on much!
I actually sometimes enjoy the smell of of my own farts though lol.
Also, I think describing this as “my handicap” is an insult to people that can’t walk, or have other serious handicaps.
all the best,
Cameron
Yea man I cant smell farts either, only if I fart in my hand and bring it to my nose can I pick up a wiff. It’s really strange actually.
that’s disgusting.
The question is, can you smell natural gas leaks. Natural gas has no inherent smell, but gas companies add mercaptan to it so people can detect dangerous leaks. That is one case where the inability to smell natural gas is definitely a negative.
i have a semilar problem only i can’t smell sour milk
in later life this could be varry harmful to me as i am prone to food posioning
you aren’t alone
well this is me.. im bout 15 yrs old and wen i was 14 i sufferd an avvident… i had a fall bout 10 feet high on my head and knw i can smell my own odors… like i dnt knw if im musty and if i take a fart and dnt smell anything.. but others can… so how can i get my sent bak? i really need it badly cuzz wen im around my girl i kinda get nervus… like wat if i smell… its so hard to feal with this.. so wat can i do?