Need help . I'm constantly smelling exhaust fumes.

For the past few days , no matter where I go , I have been constantly smelling car exhaust fumes .
It is really starting to irritate me . I smell it at home ( I don't live near heavy traffic ) , I smell it at work too.
Its like I have started an engine in the garage with the doors closed.
I have asked others if they can smell it too , but I always get the same negative reply .
I decided to google my problem and I came up with this .
www.medhelp.org...

At least I now know I am not alone in this .
Has anybody on ATS experienced something similar ?
My general health is good and I am at a total loss as to the cause .

Regards .

reply to post by tpg47

As the first post said in the link,

Hopefully this will go away soon but if not you should see an ENT doctor (otolaryngologist).

and another one:

The condition is called phantosmia. It is not "normal", but it is a named medical condition.
It is usually caused by some sort of trauma or a sinus infection or other upper respiratory illness. Tumors are another possible cause, but not always. Exhaust is not a typical odor to experience, but burning wood is very normal. Exhaust is a close smell. You should see an ENT to rule out any serious problems.

Hope that helped

reply to post by tpg47


I have had that constant irritating lingering burnt matches smell before.Lasted for about a week and it drove me crazy.I was blaming the kids for lighting matches...searched up and down with no avail,felt bad afterwards.It went away eventually and I forgot about it til now.I wouldn't mind an explanation too.

reply to post by Saneeto


Thanks .
Yes I read all the replies in the link provided . I am even experiencing the upset stomach that goes with exposure to such fumes . Hopefully it will pass , but it is nonetheless irritating

Regards.

reply to post by tpg47


Yes, I mentioned that

reply to post by tpg47


Mr Saneeto above has nailed it I think - you have a sinus infection (or mouth infection), my wife had this about a year ago and went to and ENT specialist - cleared it up in no time.

reply to post by Sublimecraft


Thank you . I will get checked out . Did your wife have any recurrences ?

Some people have a thing called olfactory hallucinations. I'm not a doctor or anything so I can't say that's what you have but it's not unheard of and it's harmless (yet annoying!)

Mine is a metallic smell or gasoline. I'm on medicine for a mental illness and don't get it very often anymore but I know how weird it is when it happens.

I saw on your link that some people said it can happen because of sinus infections - did not know that.

By the way, I'm not saying you're mentally ill, just that that's where mine comes from so please don't take offense!

I did not smell gasoline engine exhaust fumes, but I did have a similar experience regarding olfactory hallucinations.

For about a month I constantly smelled and tasted walnuts. It finally went away, when I ate a bag of walnuts.

I would suggest affixing your mouth to the exhaust of a running car, but I'm not sure that would work out so well for you. I hear road rash is pretty painful.

reply to post by tpg47


Yes, once since.

Went back to a normal doc to get the prescription and it again went away.

She does suffer badly from hay-fever at times so this does not help and makes her more susceptible to infections.

get off ATS and seek medical help. I don't go to the golf professional when I have a sore tooth. I don't talk to my mechanic if I need help with my reconciliations. Why the hell would you seek help on ATS of all places????

ATS gets weirder every day!

reply to post by tpg47

But you smell it more at home, right? A comment from your link..

I thought I was crazy....lol.......I have been smelling exhaust fumes in my room for the last 2 hours and I've had a headache with a sore throat coming on and I'm very tired. I do smoke, but, have been over-sensitive to smells since my car accident Nov 2005 which caused a bad flare up of my CFS/ME. I'm afraid to sleep cuz I think there is a carbon monoxide in the house I live in. The guy who owns the house has old appliances & hasn't changed the furnace filter for 3 or 4 years, plus, the furnace he was told Oct 2006 needed to be replaced but he refused to do so. So, I don't know if my smelling exhaust fumes is sinus, tumor or actually a carbon monoxide leak. Anyone have any theories?

Thing about old heaters is they may develop a condition where they "burn thru" the radiator part of the furnace. Then burnt gas fumes could very well enter your home and smell up the place. Carbon Monoxide is odorless and so is CO2. They are the killers. The danger is a build up of those that could put you into a sleep you don't wake up from. Symptoms are the "exhaust" smell, headache, feeling tired. Have your furnace checked (gas company provides a free service) to scratch that off the list. Do it right away. That problem is lethal.

reply to post by pacifier2012


Not so fast there friend - ATS has a forum for such queries and it is used extensively for advice....

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Some people prefer non-medicated solutions to issues

reply to post by Deemo Diablo


Great reply and it really made me smile .

Cheers .

reply to post by pacifier2012


Did it occur to you for a single second that I might not have thought it to be a medical condition ???

How's the slice ? Did the golf pro cure it ?

Try to be more empathic and less pompous.

reply to post by tpg47


I'm working on quitting alcohol and I don't always get the balance right... Was drinking WAY too much. About a case per day. So I have had hallucinations when I don't get enough alcohol as I try and reduce my intake(im at about 10)..

So These hallucinations are everything
really I hear things,
I see things,
I smell things...

There is this nasty body odor/rotten smell that keeps appearing, and my house is really clean. It's only when I try and go 24 hours without any alcohol at all, and then 3 beers or so fixes it. (for a bit)

Anyway that's my story and One cause.. It's a mind not being used to it's chemical makeup.

Side note (don't become an alcoholic)

reply to post by Dustytoad


Well I did notice that after 15 vodkas , the odour disappeared .....along with my bladder control , my single vision , , speech control , rational thinking and my sense of balance lol .

Cheers .

Now this is very strange. For a few years now, ever so often, be it hot or cool, at night and early morning I too have had that smell. In my house, walking to the shop, it's like it's everywhere but equally strong but without a source. No machinery, I used to think someone had a kerosene heater, it was so strong.

And until this thread, I couldn't pin point it, it's exactly like fumes...

I thought it was just me, but now I'm not so sure... and it's not an olfactory hallucination as far as Im concerned, as it almost hurts to breath at times, and it gives me insane heart burn...

??????

Originally posted by tpg47
For the past few days , no matter where I go , I have been constantly smelling car exhaust fumes .
It is really starting to irritate me . I smell it at home ( I don't live near heavy traffic ) , I smell it at work too.

Has anybody on ATS experienced something similar ?

For a few weeks a year I am overwhelmed with the smell of formaldehyde (and sometimes exhaust fumes). It is so pervasive that I have to keep uttering, phew, phew, phew. This happens (I think) because of an upper respiratory infection. And I believe this altered sense of smell is called Parosmia.

Parosmia

PAROSMIA: ... Any disorder or perversion of the sense of smell, especially a perception of nonexistent odors

reply to post by jiggerj


I need very seriuos advice,there is something that i have told no one but some know because they were there and know,it's been 15 years or so and it's tearing me apart,but i dont have 20 posts etc,i beg for those who can make it happen please let me post,if someone out there can help it will save so much,please,i beg.

I dont wish to take away from the poster above,but please i beg of you.