Hi, badly need advice on a particular problem I've been experiencing, specifically a sudden change in the way I smell. This has been happening on and off for the last 3 years, but has begun to become far more regular in the last 6 months or so. It is not BO; I shower at least once a day, and this change can occur at any time (even IN THE SHOWER). I don't really know how to describe the smell, and I'm not going to try but it's not pleasant and completely alien to my own natural smell. It's also destroying my self-esteem. It changes the scent of everything around me (to me), from grass to deodorant, as well as the actual taste of food and drink. Right now, I believe I'm the only one aware of it, mainly because anytime I get it, I rush of to the bathroom to reverse it in the one way I know how, unless I'm out in the pub where the smell is blocked out (to others, not to me) by other smells around me. I'm not close to anyone right now, so I don't know if a lot of time spent in very close quarters would affect the other person, although I have my suspicions about a date that didn't go very well over a year ago.
As I say, I do know one way of reversing it, although it does disappear when I'm asleep- I never wake up with it. This way is to fill a sink and basically suck water up through my nose; I'd liken the sensation to the one someone gets when they dive or swim the wrong way and they get water in their sinuses which is accompanied by a kind of burn in their nose. That works, but rarely for long. And,as you can imagine, excusing myself to the bathroom everytime I get it (quite often) and returning with a runny nose and sniffles would seem fairly strange behaviour to others, something I am very aware of.
I have read that odour changes can be influenced by a range of medical conditions from Metabolic disorders to Diabetes but I just don't see any evidence of any other problem. The smell does not accompany any other difficulties and by all accounts, I am a healthy 24 year old, with very few medical complaints or conditions. I would very much appreciate any advice, frankly it has begun to depress me so much, cutting off my sense of smell doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Thanks for your time.