#If we could start calling anosmia a disability I would appreciate it

[poisonedapples]

Things that being born with no sense of smell affects:

- Cleaning. Cleaning is an absolute nightmare to me, because I never actually know if a mess is cleaned up or not. My dog vomited on the kitchen floor, and even though wiping it away made it LOOK clean to me, I had no way to tell if it still smelled like vomit or not. I also had no idea what I could use to cover up a smell that may or may not be there

- Memory. Your sense of smell is one of, if not the biggest memory retrieval device. Non-anosmics remember a lot of things based on what they’re smelling. For me, it’s one less sense to be able to remember things by, and I do notice that my memory is a lot worse than average

- Taste. Yes, I can taste, never ask an anosmic if they can taste because it is the most annoying question in my experience. But, I do notice that my taste is very dulled down. Lots of food is very bland by default, so eating is very often not a fun experience, and I rely a lot more on texture. It’s very rare to find foods that give me a strong reaction. Hence why I love blue cheese, it’s one of the few things I can eat and actually feel a good kick for

- Human connection. This is one I had to research a little bit and have no idea how true it is, but apparently pheromones which helps you connect to people and sense their emotions is by smelling pheromones??? And I can’t smell pheromones. So I probably have a harder time spotting emotions because of that, but I’m also just autistic, so I have no idea how true this is

- General life safety. I can’t smell gas leaks, so I can never live alone. I can’t detect fires until I see the smoke. Cooking for me is very dangerous, and I don’t leave the kitchen when I have something in the oven because I’m terrified of missing the beep and causing the alarm to go off. I have a MASSIVE fear of my car exploding because something is up with the gas tank and I can’t notice. Also, so many safety things are stuff you have to smell out??? Especially with vehicles??? It’s such bullshit

- CONSTANT smell anxiety. Do I smell??? Is my deodorant still working??? Is that smell people are complaining about coming from me??? No way to tell, baby! You just gotta hope and pray!

For so long in my life, people’s reactions to hearing I have no sense of smell has been “Oh my God, you’re SO lucky you can’t smell farts!” (Which has thankfully dulled down after COVID when everyone lost their smell and really hated it), and it’s the most annoying thing. I am missing one of the major senses. Missing a major sense affects everything about your life, whether it’s noticeable or not. If we could start seeing anosmia as something more than “Can’t smell cookies or farts”, I would GREATLY appreciate it