Have you ever lost your sense of smell while you had a bad cold and couldn’t smell your morning cup of coffee? What would your life be like if your smell didn’t return?
I have acquired anosmia and in my personal experience, when I tell someone that I can’t smell, they typically ask “but what about… flowers, gasoline, cigarette smoke?” I then have to explain that no, I mean it, I really can’t smell anything, ever.
At that point in the conversation, they say oh OK and move on. Only sometimes does this exchange go further and the fact of what it means not to smell really sink in for them.
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