He takes on patients other doctors say are untreatable, and points out there are a wide range of smell disorders. There are treatments available, though many are still considered by the to be experimental. One dysosmic reports he smells rotting road-kill deer wherever he goes. Chronic smell disorders affect about 7 per cent of the population, Dr. Henkin said. While it is common to have a partial loss of smell when sick with a cold or flu, it normally comes back in a few days.
People take smell for granted, and when it's gone, one is plunged into a scentless world.
If you don't enjoy eating, that puts a real damper on your social life. Try to think of social events or holidays that don't involve food or aromas. He considers the loss of the sense of smell a hidden handicap because, on the surface, people look fine. There are dangers to not being able to smell, too. One of his patients died because she couldn't smell the smoke warning that a fire had started.