I Smell Smoke - Sinus infection or what - Solutions (Page 3)

I just returned from an emergency dentist appointment because my upper left row of teeth were causing pain. Dentist feels it's sinus infection. When I mentioned I have been smelling exhaust smells off and on for months he said that can be a sinus infection symptom. It all adds up now, post nasal drip, exhaust smell and now the concrete evidence of an infection. The smell has been worse this past few weeks. I smoke and the exhaust smell is sickening and far beyond just cigarette smoke which doesn't bother me. So I suggest people suspect a sinus infection and get treated. I am on antibiotics and nasonex now.

My nasal passages do feel sore and I have had post nasal drip so perhaps that is it. Must I have antibiotics or could sniffing in salt water clear it up maybe?

It's after 3AM in the morning & I just Googled "Exhaust Smell" and found these postings. I have only been suffering from this smell since last evening. Checked all outside vents for ice & now know it is just me! I have had the aversion to plastic bag smells (mentioned in an earlier post) for several years, & am also taking a blood pressure medicine that has changed the taste of all cooked meats for me!I do drink Diet Coke. Let's hope one of usfigures this out in 2011! KP

I thought I might be losing my mind. A week of this exhaust smell is killing me. I only notice it in my room and when I'm sitting down relaxing. When I lay down to sleep it's almost intolerable. It burns my eyes and nose. I've checked everything I know to check in the house. This AM it is so strong I feel like gagging. This is crazy

i smell exhaust too. it comes and goes for me. i don't smoke, have acid reflux, drink diet sodas, use downy, etc. it gets so bad it makes my eyes burn and i sneeze. i can get a headache from it as well.

after reading on here about shallow breathing, i tried to breathe in deeper and it does work. interesting...

I also have the exhaust smell. I have had no smell or taste since a bad cold in July of 2010. Then last week this exhaust smell started. My ENT is convinced this is a sinus infection. I have other symptoms too, stuffiness, post nasal drip, hoarseness, etc. I am currently on antibiotics for the second time in two months. I have tried nasal washes, decongestants, mucinex, vicks, on and on. If anyone finds a solution to get rid of this awful smell, please let us know.

My wife and I get sinus infection symptoms in our house.I have tried mold test kits that are negative.I have upgraded my ac filters, I am at my wits end. The only thing I can think of is dust mites. I have never had any allergies before.She has low immune system and is more vulnerable due to embtil injections for her Lupas.Air tests are ridiculously expensive.Looking for inexpensive fix.I also smell smoke but think its symptom rather than cause since smoking environments do not promote sinus synptoms.My wife notices a lot of dust although she cleans regularly. Why would allm of us and daughter experience some symptoms?
Any thoughts?

The dust mite / dust link is very interesting. I can never get rid of it and interestingly.....

the computer where I work as home and the office seems to attract dust like nobody's business!

Wouldn't it be funny that the computer I'm typing to you for help with this situation (and the dust on it) was the Culprit!

Thanks for the post

Exhaust smell

Why has noone come back to follow up...I am like all the other post, going crazy..my dr says there is no medical anything to support my smelling of exhaust..it is getting so bad I feel like I am getting poison in my system..my mind just keeps thinking that my lungs and brain are being polluted and I can't get away from it. The remarks about shallow breathing are true..I find that when I am relaxing watching tv it is worse or at my desk at work. I only wish there was some follow up to the previous reports over the years.

If you are on any kind of sugar substitutes such as Splenda or aspartame or neotame you can expect to have many health problems. I, too, have a sinus infection and finally stopped using Splenda which made my heart palpitations worse. When I look online for problems with aspartame they gave 80 different diseases that aspartame poisoning mimicks or can even give you. Don't drink diet drinks unless they are truly Stevia only. Many companies are using Stevia/combos. which are not good for us either. You need the Stevia alone for it to be healthful for you. I smell the smoke and the exhaust fumes at night and also we have a fireplace, regular wood one. It is spring now and hopefully I won't smell the exhaust fumes as much at night. We need to get our fireplace cleaned for this upcoming fall so maybe that will make the smell go away. We have a forced air furnace and I sometimes wonder if that could be the cause of some smoke or exhaust fume smell.

I have avoided sugar subsitutes as a rule.

I would rather use less real sugar than put those chemicals in my body.

I know a lot of folks use them, but I'm just sayin'

Well..I still have seen no follow up..maybe because like me the smell just left, as mysteriously as it appeared..I had it for a couple of weeks and then I didn't. I did read it is possible for smells such as exhaust can actually get trapped in your sinus for a bit and you will smell them until they either fade away or maybe washed away with saline rinse. I only know that it is really awkward when you try to discribe it to your MD and he basically calls you crazy. This is obvious a real problem for there to be so many other post. Hang in there and I believe you.

Hi I have posted a message that might be interesting to you regarding the exhaust smell.
I posted under my username which is according2jo.

Let me know what you think.

Joanne

If you are on any kind of sugar substitutes such as Splenda or aspartame or neotame you can expect to have many health problems. I, too, have a sinus infection and finally stopped using Splenda which made my heart palpitations worse. When I looked online for problems with aspartame they gave 80 different diseases that aspartame poisoning mimicks or can even give you. Don't drink diet drinks unless they are truly Stevia only. Many companies are using Stevia/combos. which are not good for us either. You need the Stevia alone for it to be healthful for you. I smell the smoke and the exhaust fumes at night and also we have a fireplace, regular wood one. It is spring now and hopefully I won't smell the exhaust fumes as much at night. We need to get our fireplace cleaned for this upcoming fall so maybe that will make the smell go away. We have a forced air furnace and I sometimes wonder if that could be the cause of some smoke or exhaust fume smell.

Disappointing that nobody has responded. I feel in perfect health but that exhaust smell comes and goes, staying for the last two weeks now. I'm sure it is not an external source but "phantom", maybe sinus, something internal. It is most strong when I breath in slowly. Hopefully somebody is accurately diagnosed and helps us...

Disappointing that nobody has responded. I feel in perfect health but that exhaust smell comes and goes, staying for the last two weeks now. I'm sure it is not an external source but "phantom", maybe sinus, something internal. It is most strong when I breath in slowly. Hopefully somebody is accurately diagnosed and helps us...

Smell is gone. Lasted a month and a half. I did a Neti Pot... cleaning out the sinuses with water but I believe that was more coincidence than the remedy. It's the second time I've had the exhaust smell and I do believe the infection(?) had just run its course.

I am on anit biotics and going to try the Neti Pot.

Thx

I have it too....just started about a couple months ago. I think it is a sensitivity to the radiation coming off the computer screen burning the sinuses a little...like "cooking" them as I dod spend a lot of time in front of my Mac screen. Later I smell the toxic smell of burning and even taste it in the air I breathe in. It comes and goes and is worse when breathing shallow.
I also figure I may be more sensitive to pollution than others and that could also be part of it. I also have a bit of a cough and my voice gets raspy sometimes and I do get wetness in the ears and acid reflux and post nasal drip.
I was scared of brain tumours etc but thought i would have headaches etc which i do not. My husband bought perfumed detergent and I am thinking that is also a possibility. We will go back to organic detergents and I will post back if it ever goes away all together or if I hear anything helpful from anyone else.
I suggest posting in your status on FB to see if any friends are having the same issues and then ask about sitting in front of computer screens...painful sinuses... etc. see how many people have this stupid annoying bad smell thing.

Hi I have posted a message that might be interesting to you regarding the exhaust smell.
I posted under my username which is according2jo.

Let me know what you think.

Joanne

Read more: Sinusitis Forum - I Smell Smoke - Sinus infection or what - Solutions page 3 http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic112324 _40.html#ixzz1o6u2vvM4

Have you recently ingested any zinc cold remedies? These products can cause olfactory nerve damage which results in odd smells/tastes and even a complete loss thereof. I have olfactory nerve damage from a zinc cold remedy (cough lozenges) and I smell sulphur or burnt hair all the time. When the damage first occured I smelled ammonia very strongly.

Have you recently ingested any zinc cold remedies? These products can cause olfactory nerve damage which results in odd smells/tastes and even a complete loss thereof. I have olfactory nerve damage from a zinc cold remedy (cough lozenges) and I smell sulphur or burnt hair all the time. When the damage first occured I smelled ammonia very strongly.

I have arthritis in the back of my neck. It hurts...bone on bone ...pressing on nerves. My husband thinks the burning smell is related to this problem. do any of you have neck issues? Looking for a common link.

I have been experiencing this for a few weeks and also have a cervical spine defromity and sinusitis that was diagnosed a year ago with a MRI and havent been able to heal. Also I have thyroid nodules and recent Fine needle biopsy. Just maybe some how all this and evironmental issuses are conected. And all these posts start from 2009 to 2012. Blessings and prayers to all and hope this gets resolved soon.

I have been experiencing this for a few weeks and also have a cervical spine defromity and sinusitis that was diagnosed a year ago with a MRI and havent been able to heal. Also I have thyroid nodules and recent Fine needle biopsy. Just maybe some how all this and evironmental issuses are conected. And all these posts start from 2009 to 2012. Blessings and prayers to all and hope this gets resolved soon.

OMG!! THANK GOODNESS I found this thread!! I seriously thought I was going crazy and that it was ME who was funky, and I'm the cleanest person on the planet so it was really disturbing. I've totally got the car-exhaust smell as well, but sometimes it's more of a sick-sweet old lady smell (I'm 4. I figured out for myself that it's probably a sinus infection and I'll call my Dr. for a check-up. No other symptoms aside from a slightly stuffy nose upon waking in the morning. No pain or anything, so I didn't know what the heck was going on! Thanks People!

Until I found this site I too thought I was going mad. I smell exhaust fumes and no-one else in the house does. My first attack was a few weeks after we had a new gas boiler installed and we even called out an engineer suspecting a gas leak. Over the last three years it has happened about 5 times and it started again yesterday. I rarely notice it when moving around it is only when sitting still and also much worse at night, I also smell it in the car and other places. As it has come and gone in the past I am hopeful it will do the same again, in the meantime I will keep spraying air freshener and keeping perfumed body lotion close at hand just to get some relief. Thanks to everyone who posted and saved my sanity.

Have been experiencing this smell of smoke for about a week and a half now. Don't use Downy, aspartame, etc. etc. Have had sinus infections, had sinuses drained about three years ago. Since I began using a neti pot at that time the sinus problem seems to be cleared up apart from a few mild instances of facial pain in the cold weather. This smoke smell is a new symptom associated with the latter. I still use neti pot and have also started using saline sprays every so often both at home and work. Almost wonder whether the salt is making the smell worse! My throat is now starting to burn a little, too. Have concluded its just chronic sinusitis, doubt that antibiotics are really necessary. Just hope it all disappears again come warm weather. If not, I guess it really is an infection. Thanks, all, for sharing your stories! I, too, thought I was going nuts. . .

Hi, I started eating flaxseed for I had heard that it would help with my hot flashes. For a week I was eating ground flaxseed in my yogart, noticing a decrease in my hot flashes, and was excited it was working. Then I started smelling 'exhaust' fumes. No one in my family could smell it. Went to the doctors and no sinus infection and they didn't know what was going on. Thought, OMG, another menopause symptom. Talked with my mom and she said,"What have you done different in the last (now) 2 weeks?' Nothing, just eating flaxseed. She said don't eat it and see if that helps. Within 2 days the 'exhaust' smell was gone. I waited 1 week and tried eating flaxseed again and yep, the 'exhaust' smell came back...Go figure. Hope this helps.

Interesting. My husband puts flaxseed in our smoothies. Maybe that is it. I will see if I smell it when I do not drink them. Thanks.

I was wondering if you had any relief. The other reason I posted is because my doctor just recommended that I take CLA. A week after taking it, 1 liquid capsule, once a day the exhaust smell came back so I looked up what it was. CLA is also an omega, just like flax seed. I stopped taking it and the smell is gone. I am taking it 3x a week after I talked with my doctor and the smell has not returned. I guess I can't take it every day. I wonder how many other women suffer from this smell and stopping the omega's will help.

I just found this site after searching for "sinus infection smoke smell". I have had a sinus infection for the past few weeks and it is just going away, however the past few days I have smelt both cigarette smoke and car exhaust fumes when they should not have been there. After reading these posts it seems pretty clear the smell is related to the sinus infection and I am hoping it will go away shortly.

So glad to find this thread, thought I was going insane, or sitting on a stroke. I've also been smelling car fumes/exhaust, and/or a dusty smell (mostly this), for about a week now.

I've had acid reflux for years, drink diet drinks with Splenda (occasionally), have had sinus infections in the past, and use a sinus rinse regularly, but never experienced this until recently. The only change I can think of, is a recent change in my sinus rinse (changed the salt I use) which maybe damaged(?) my sinuses. I kind of wonder if it's like when burning you tongue and can't taste anything for a few days.

The smell does only become noticeable when breathing normally (not necessarily shallow), and does go away when breathing deep. I'm also baffled why it's so much stronger when sitting or laying down. I noticed it where ever I'm sitting (home, work, car, etc.).

I've tried decongestants (generic Sudafed) and 24 hour allergy (generic Claritin), mint tea, ginger, and Vicks. None of them seem to help. It seems to be better after getting out of the shower, until my nose dries out. I'm trying holding off on further nasal rinses for a while to see if that lets things clear up. I'm wondering if I've got a cold/flu/sinus infection starting since I also seem to have a bit of a sore throat and occasional stuffy nose. There don't seem to be any other symptoms though.

I've always had a really good sense of smell. Really hope this goes away on it's own. Extremely annoying and makes me worried I'm going to suffocate from a gas leak I can't smell. Promise to post updates, if anything changes.

After reading this forum I'm wondering if this could be as result of: using sleeping pills (melatonin) on a regular basis, high stress (this would be new for me), or headache migraine related. I do drink a lot of coffee and when cutting back I get headaches.

I think it might be from gasses or whatnot escaping the stomach via damaged esophigus from reflux.

shallower breathing prolly puts more weight on the stomach and esasperbates it.

Another thought I had is blown out dental work that might be harboring infection some or all of the time, like a molar with an overlooked cavity that has been left fallow and had time to dig in.