Forum Discussion
Sense of smell while having chemo
I've been pretty lucky with not having a load of side effects. Just finished my 4 rounds of a/c and had my first paclitaxel treatment today. One thing I really notice is that my sense of smell has become quite sensitive and today the smells in the day therapy room almost made me nauseous. I am now going to be there weekly and I need some advice on how I can deal with this without affecting the other patients in the room. I use a lot of aromatherapy products at home and I'm thinking either a small dried lavender mix pillow or similar.
Any other ideas? Especially if others have done something similar.
Any other ideas? Especially if others have done something similar.
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6 Replies
- I smelled a simply terrible stench for a few days. Wasn't real, just a slight nose malfunction, presumably caused by chemo. So in addition to sensitivity to real smells, you can be assailed by a smell in your brain! Cleared up quickly and never returned.
- Oh I am so glad that this is normal! Thank you for your comments ladies.
- Omg going into shopping centres and everyone's perfumes nearly made me gag. It does get better with time though.
- @Staycalm , The only thing I can think of to counteract the smell is if you wore a scarf. The scarf could have say an essential oil you love sprayed on it. It would be quite normal to wear a scarf. A damp face cloth with a diluted oil my work.You can easily bring in a face cloth in a bag would not be too weird. I had trouble with smell of cleaning products when doing chemo. Deodrant smells were also difficult.
- Thanks Glemmis. The spray is a great idea as I now have hot flushes from both my entry into menopause and the paclitaxel. Thanks!
- Hi @Staycalm, my sense of smell too was very sensitive so much that my family had to put their deodorant & after shave on outside the house. I found once I got a whiff of something the smell lingered in my nose all day & still can't stand anything perfumed. It is a bit hard to get away from odors in the day therapy room but your suggestion of a lavender pillow is quite good. May be you could try chewing some mints which might help. Also some floral water you could use in a spray bottle.
