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Impaired Sense Of Smell Increases Risk For Hazards, Says Med. Soc. People with an impaired or absent sense of smell are at risk for experiencing certain hazards that could be life threatening but could be avoided with an intact sense of smell, according to a recent article in the Archives of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, a publication of the American Medical Association. Olfaction, or sense of smell, helps detect environmental cues that can warn of potentially life-threatening situations such as fires, spoiled food or gas leaks. Sense of smell can be impaired for several reasons, including head trauma, viral infection, nasal obstruction, neurological disorders, medications, hormonal disturbances and normal aging. The researchers found that 76% of the patients had some degree of olfactory impairment, and 30% had no sense of smell. Nearly twice as many (37% vs 19%) patients with olfactory impairment experienced at least one olfactory-related potentially hazardous event, as compared to those with a normal sense of smell. Cooking-re-lated incidents were the most common – representing 45% of such events – followed by eating spoiled food (25%), inability to detect a gas leak (23%) and inability to detect a fire (7%). To prevent such accidents, the Me-dical Society of the State of New York recommends that everyone, especially the elderly, make sure they have their sense of smell checked periodically.
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