Click my name and check my posts.....What I did cleared up the smoke smell and it's not been back since July. Maybe let your Dr. do his thing and when all fails (like most say it has) demand the anti-fungal stuff I mentioned.

I also found an old article from the Mayo clinic that supports the fungal factor 96% of chronic sinus sufferers had fungal stuff in their sinuses.

I wish all my fellow SmokeSmellers well

http://www.sinuses.com/fungal.htm

Hi! I am a new member. I am so glad to have found this forum. Like so many others, I thought I was going crazy. At least I am not alone.

I started to smell smoke around Apr 2006. At the time I was more concerned about my worsening allergies. It would be quite some time before I made the connection. I was taking Loratadine and Benedryl and someone told be about saline sinus cleansing so I added SinuCleanse to my regimen. Nothing was helping.

Somewhere along the line it dawned on me that I might have a sinus infection (my first). I looked it up on the internet and found that I had the classic symptons. It was now the end of Jun and couldn't get in to see my primary care physician until the end of Jul (I still made an appt for general purposes). I was desperate so off to the the after hours clinic I went to get some antibiotics (I was prescribed Keflex). Of the 20 day treatement, it takes almost the full 20 days before the smell is gone. But it does go away. What a relief!

In July I see my pcp about other things but did mention my sinus infection and how it seems to be getting worse with age. I did not say anything about the smoke smell since I still had not made the connection. I live in Southern California and we had had many wild fires around that time so I thought that might be what I was smelling (although I describe the smell closer to cigarette smoke). He gave me an rx for Singulair and off I went.

It is now Jan 2007 and the smell is back and so is the sinus infection. I start telling my husband that it is almost as if the smell is inside my head because I cannot pinpoint it anywhere. That is what clicks and the connection is now made to my sinuses. My pcp has a cancellation for the following week so I decide to wait it out instead of going to the after hours clinic. I wanted to let him know this time about the smoke smell. It was a verrry long week to wait. The smell is almost suffocating to me because I cannot escape it. Jan 24th finally arrives and my pcp tells me it is the pus from the infection that I am smelling and prescribes 10 days of Omnicef (says it's better than Keflex). By the beginning of day 5 the smell is gone. I now think I am home free at last. WRONG!!

The smell is back - only about 3 weeks after finishing the anibiotics!! As luck would have it, my pcp had a cancellation and I got in immediately (that was Mon, 2/26). More Omnicef and a follow-up appt in 2 weeks. It has been 2 days and the smell is still here - worse than ever! I will really press him at my f/u visit. Who knows - it may not be sinus infection after all.

I fear that this is not the end of it. Each episode is harder for me to deal with and I now worry that it will never go away. But, I hope to be getting answers and solutions soon (not just antibiotics). And maybe gleen some info from this forum. I plan on showing him this forum.

To be continued...

I was experiencing the exact symptoms as most of you - constant smell of smoke (almost suffocating at times), slight sore throat, eyes watering, etc.

It's happen to me a few of times in the past - sometimes a more metallic smell than smoke - but the same experience lasting for weeks.

This time I think I traced it back to - of all things - deodorant. I remembered switching brands the day before my symptoms started - Right Guard Gel was the culprit.

I switched to another brand yesterday (Degree solid) and my symptoms have nearly cleared up 100% - I went from full blown suffering to 95% better within 24 hours.

I seldom use gel - and each time I have could have very well been when my previous "attacks" happened. All deodorants are based on Aluminum but the Gels have a different inactive ingredient set than the solids - I think something in the gel formulas are the cause of my condition.

I'll keep you posted as to if I'm 100% better within the next few days.

Following up with an update almost a week later from my initial post:

All symptoms cleared up 24 hours after I discontinued use of the gel based deodorant - no smell of smoke at all.

This weekend I'm going to experiment and use the gel one more time to see for certain if that was the culprit. I'll post my findings.

I have been smelling smoke since late February. I'm thinking that MN-Mike's theory that this is a fungal infection has merit. I've had two courses of antibiotics in the past month, one was augmentin, the second z-pac. The smell stopped for a few days toward the end of the each course of antibiotics, but returned each time, 2-3 days after the last dose of the antibiotic. Having read some of these writings about a connection to coffee, I eliminated drinking caffeinated coffee about one week ago. The smell was gone the following day, so I thought I had found my cure--until today--the smell is back, full force. It started out mildly early today, not so much a smoke smell, but maybe metallic or something I can't identify. By late day, it was definitely smoky smelling again. Today happens to be a very damp and rainy day which makes me wonder if it is a fungal infection, would it be exacerbated by this weather?

Also, I read the article MN-Mike referred to. It says that the theory is that fungal infections are probably caused either by long-term use of antibiotics or something else (I forget the other reason). But many of you writers mention that you have had chronic sinus problems and have likely taken many, many courses of antibiotics. I have too. I started having sinus infections 20 years ago. This theory makes alot of sense to me. I know many people who have chronic sinus infections, year after year. It is not hard to imagine that a chronic condition could lead to another problem, and that this problem is not yet widely known or understood in the medical community. This may explain why many doctors don't seem to know what this smoky smell is about. In the event this is the case, when I see my doctor soon, I plan to tell her about this article if she doesn't know what to do about my smelling smoke.

This article also mentions that there could be an allergic reaction to the fungus. Ahah! Never in my life have I had allergies, UNTIL RECENTLY! When my doctor prescribed that z-pac for me recently, she also said it sounded like I have some allergy symptoms and started me on Claritin which, did in fact, eliminate my sneezing and burning eyes.

One more thing: now that I look back over the past many months, I realize that long before the smoky smell started, I was experiencing other out-of-the-ordinary smells. These smells weren't bad, not really pleasant either, just different. Since they didn't occur continually, I attributed them to hormones as I'm at an age when I am going through many hormonal changes. But I'm wondering if any of you noticed any different smelling experiences before the smoky smell started?

Along with MN-MIKE, I recommend checking out the article on fungal sinusitis, and thanks to MN-MIKE!

Hi,

I noticed that this topic is quite old...but I've visited it more than once in the last few weeks. I just wanted to share my experience:

A few weeks ago I spent a few hours with relatives of my husband (brother-in-law and his wife). We were outside, but in an enclosed decking area, pretty warm, no breeze at all. Brother-in-law and his wife are smokers and smoked all afternoon so we had several hours of secondhand smoke around us (we are non-smokers). We had lots of flies buzzing around us and brother-in-laws wife had a huge can of fly spray and kept spraying EVERY fly that buzzed around us. There were a lot of chemicals in the air...and since it was the first time we'd been to their place for a meal, I was too chicken to speak-up and ask that she not spray. The next morning, I could smell cigarette smoke in church. That night I could smell smoke in my living room. Since then there are some days I don't smell smoke..but other days I might smell it once, twice or three times. I also came down with a congested chest after that smokey/fly spray afternoon...and it's been congested ever since. I'll be coughing up small amounts of phlegm every morning.. sometimes during the day too.. sometimes it has yellow in it..sometimes it's clear. I've not been right since then. Like one of the other contributors, if I inhale deeply, the smoke smell isn't there.. it's only present with shallow or normal breathing. I guess I should see my doctor. It was great to find this forum and read about other people's experiences and learn I'm not on my own. Thank you all for your contributions.

Just a follow-up.....I got an anti-fungal medication from my PCP, after taking it, the smoke smell is gone (mostly). One day this week I drank a couple cups of caffeinated coffee and later smelled a burning wood smoky smell. But nothing since.

Thanks KatyDid50 -- It was good to read a reply. I went to my GP. A gas leak was found in my living room (which had probably been there for 6 weeks or more as that's how long we've been smelling gas). Since that has been fixed, my chest is fine.. like a miracle. However the smoke smell continued more evident than ever. I only started smelling smoke after being exposed to 2nd hand smoke and excessive fly spray one afternoon.

My GP said to take a 'look-see' approach for now. If I have been poisoned by fly spray, cigarette smoke and then ongoing gas smells, then it may just take some time for my skewed sense of smell to return to normal. It's likely that my chest and nose issues have not been related to one another.. but I'm hoping that any moment now I will not be smelling smoke again. I will stay in touch.

I too have started experiencing this wierd smell! It started about 4 days ago. I recently (about a month ago) started taking a new medication (for cholesterol), so that is the only thing I can attribute it to. It is driving me nuts!!!!!!! I don't smoke, and nobody around me smokes. I only seem to notice it when I am at home..?

So 3 days ago I started taking medicine for Cholesterol, in addition to crushing chest pain I also started smelling smoke. Like someone was smoking next to a vent blowing air in my office. I kept asking anyone who came into my office if they smelled smoke. Not a one did. Needless to say I stopped taking the medicine immediate (due to the crushing chest pains not really the smoking smell) It cleared up in a day. Good luck to you, I hope it helps.

OMG........thought I was going crazy yesterday. It started just all of a sudden. I live in an apartment and the people in the apartments surrounding me are non-smokers but I thought maybe a visitor. Got in my car this morning to go to work and I still smelled smoke and now all day in my cubicle I have smelled it. My throat is a little dry but that is all that is different. I am at a loss but I know I can't stand this on a long term basis. Sometimes it is stronger than others and I thought I even was smelling "pot" at one point. I don't have allergies and I've never had a sinus problem. This has really un-nerved me. I'm 58 and I'm starting to get all of the know problems that come with age but I have never heard of this and I just decided to type into Google search and here you all are!!!! At least I know now that I am not crazy but I don't want this problem.

A friend, who thought my symptoms were unusual, found this site for me. The posts are all quite interesting, so I thought I would relate my experience. Following a moderate head cold in late Feb, I was left with a cough, sinus congestion, and a bit of throat irritation from pnd. By the third week of March, I was smelling smoke pretty much everywhere--in the office, in my car, at home. Generally, the smell was mild and similar to that from a fireplace in use, although sometimes it was more acrid, like burning leaves. I used loratidine for about a month (April). It relieved the pnd, but eventually mild nose bleeds convinced me to stop it. By the 2nd week of May, my symptoms were nearly gone except for the sinus congestion (milder, but chronic). A week later, while away from home for several days, I developed what seemed to be head cold symptoms. They remained for several days, and the smell of smoke returned. Back home I saw a phys. asst. who prescribed a 6 day course of prednisolone with declining dosage each day. That cleared my sinuses and wiped out the smoke smell. I finished the pred 12 days ago, and my sinuses stayed clear for a week, again away from home. Now I'm back home for 5 days, sinuses are a bit congested (not taking anything for it), but smoke smell has not returned. If it does, I will post an update.

I can't believe there are people out there like me. First of all I never dreamed I would be writing on the internet a problem that this in my life. But extreme smoke smell in my nose that i've had is driving to a nervous breakdown. I know everyone that lives here with me (including my husband) thinks i'm crazy. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that my son asked me to breath through my nose near his face. It blew my mind when he actually did., He said it was the smell of cigarett smoke. I'm frightned. My daughter now smells it now too. So maybe after over a week it's not just in my head. I've taken at least 4-5 showers or baths a day and wrapped my face in clean warm towels. works for about 3-4 minutes.
Of course I've read all the terrible things that it could be (tumor ) THIS IS NOT A TUMOR,,,,,haha,, ARNOLD swartseneger? oF Course that's what I always do is expect the worst.
I did see an episode on Six Feet Under that he smelled burning hair right before he collapsed from a seizure linked to a brain tumor.
I've had sinus surgery before and had smells (really bad) coming from my nose after but that was linked to the debrisment that they were doing.
Too much information I know....but now this smell seems to have come out of the blue. I keep thinking that someone in the house is smoking..It's not my teenager because no one else can smell it in less they get right up to my face and I exhale through my nose.
What it could be linked to:
a. Sinus Infection -have been on a nasal cortizone for a long time (sometimes I quit...but this has never been smelled before.
b. Head Injury - but that was 16 years ago and I do have seizures, vertigo, migraine headaches and some back and neck problems caused by the accident, but through out this many years have I ever smelled the putrid smell of smoke 24/7
c. DO I HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR- with everything that goes on in my life,,,,if something can go wrong...it will. I'm not being eeyore about this but I know I sound like a hypocondriac?sp. It's because this thing is so annoying I can't do or even want to do anything. Cooking food is even worse because the smell seems to permiate the room...This thing has taken over. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone!

Please answer me and could a doctor help out??????
I'm going to the doctor as soon as I can.

I started smelling wood smoke a few days ago. I asked my husband to check the house, but it was fine. It started after suffering a pretty bad cold in the last few weeks, with heavy chest and sinus issues. I had laryngitis, and have not fully recovered. I've had a sore throat for the last 2 weeks, no strep, though. Like most of what I have read, the smell is VERY real, causing burning eyes and throat. If I put a cloth over my nose, I notice it disappears.

I've read with interest all the medications and "remedies" that have been suggested. I'm going to start by using saline spray up my nose many times a day to help relieve the PND which I am going to assume is causing the sore throat. I also think that the laryngitis might be part of the issue.

I also noticed that I don't wake up with this issue - but it has set in faster and faster every day...and so far, it's only been at home, but I'm sure it will expand. If it doesn't clear in a week, I will see my doctor and print out a majority of this forum, if necessary, in order for him to see that it is NOT just me!

Linda

Hi I have been having the problem of wood burning smell in my nose for a few months i can not believe we all have the same problem .I also had a bad allergy going on lost my smell after the z pack and then the smell of smoke is never gone.At least its not a terrible smell. But my brother is a case worker and he runs a group room and he has patients and they have seizures and get this smell of smoke but I am to afraid to go to Drs. so I'll psych my self up and make an appt in the near future.

Hi All........ what a relief it was to find this forum and discover I wasn't losing my mind. About a month ago I had a horrific upper respiratory infection except I had no nasal congestion. During that time I noticed I smelled cigarette smoke constantly.... it was so bad that I would swear someone was hiding in our attic and smoking......

The weird thing was when I 'got well' I was visiting friends and discovered they, also, must have someone smoking in their attic...... and, visiting my in-laws, imagine my surprise when I detected someone apparently smoking in their attic...... it was nauseating.......

While sitting at my computer this morning, I felt what I thought was a nose bleed so I quickly grabbed a tissue. I pressed it against my nose until I thought the bleeding had stopped then I checked the tissue and... there was only a little clear dampness..... weird, huh...... but even weirder was the fact that, instantly. the cigarette smoke was gone..... completely gone...... for the first time in a month.......

Who'd have thought you could ever feel such elation over getting rid of something like that..... but I'm so happy!

Solitear

Although this thread has been quiet for a year, it may be useful to add my experience. I've had "the smell" intermittently. This time, it's been for two or three days. I first thought a building I was in had been cleaned poorly, leaving chemical odors behind. But no one else smelled it. It is a bit like smoke, but not cigarette smoke. A bit like wood smoke or the lingering odor of a strong cleaning compound. Because of other medications I take, I can't take regular decongestants, though I can take Claritin-D. However, I don't like to take medicines, and will not take steroids even if prescribed; again, that's because of the combination of other medicines, as well as heart problems.

RubyTuesday ("My nat. Doc told me I needed molybdenum chelate-s."), if you are still around -- I'm going to try your suggestion, as I've found that in some cases my minor somatic intrigues have been ameliorated by natural things, like vitamins and certain foods.

I could not find any of the specific molybdenum. But I looked at my vitamin bottle, which I had stopped using some months earlier. I took 3 tablets, each of which is said to provide "100%" of the MDR of molybdenum . I took a single tablet each succeeding day.
So far, "the smell" has not returned.
Maybe I just needed to take vitamins.
Or maybe it's something else entirely!

my wife was smelling cigarette smoke when there was none. I found this site when I googled on the symptom. She also had slight dizziness. Turned out to be nothing more than a blocked ear from a trip to a water park a couple of months before. After the ear has been cleared, no dizziness and no smelling smoke the past two weeks. Just wanted to post what we found out so people can benefit.

I am wondering if anyone else finds that their "phantom" smoke smell is always triggered by exposure to real smoke?

Two years ago, I was accidentally "elbowed" in the nose. Five days later, I sat one evening on a smoky outdoor restaurant patio, and that smell of smoke did not go away for nine days. Since then, it has returned many times, usually for 3-7 days at a stretch, and it has always been triggered by exposure to fairly heavy smoke -- either cigarette smoke or smoke from roasting coffee beans. Lately, it has also been accompanied by a feeling of pressure and achiness in my sinues. I had a CT scan and it showed a slightly deviated septum, but nothing else.