Do you smell cigarette smoke?

Many, many, years ago, I played guitar in a rock band. Our band never got beyond the small bars so I’m sure you never heard of us. We argued all the time, fought over girls, and wanted to become big rock stars by… tomorrow. The world had not been educated yet… into the dangers of cigarette smoke, and all of the other things that followed the night life. I remember nights that the smoke was so thick, I couldn’t see the bartender, or the people at their tables. I closed my eyes from the smoke, and learned to control the coughing. I never developed the desire for cigarettes, but would do anything… to play my music.

Now, 2019, I still don’t smoke, and have a closet full of guitars that I haven’t played in ten years. I know, I can’t believe it either.

Through my life, I have had a few major career changes. I was a finish carpenter in new construction, then I became the vice-president of a construction company, and now I build yacht interiors for a Florida company that sells them for $5.4M each.

Even with that resume, what I derive the most pleasure from is writing. It also pays the least. BUT… that’s not what this post is about! I started typing tonight to tell you about a strange condition I have acquired. The above history lesson is my way of searching for straws in my past.

For a few weeks now, I have been occasionally smelling cigarette smoke. I still don’t smoke, but many of the guys I work with do. I assumed that having to walk through their break area three times a day, or having them with me with their smoke saturated clothes, had rubbed off on me and was just an occupational hazard. I could smell the smoke at my workbench, in my truck, and even in my land home. Again, I assumed that the odor was following me, from my association with smokers. This weekend, I was on my sailboat. I had fresh clothes on and there has never been a cigarette on my boat. I could smell it down inside my boat, which eliminated passerbys on the dock. The other component is that I don’t always… smell it. Even at work it comes and goes. This is driving me crazy, and no-one else was smelling what I described.

I Googled it! “Happy Day!” There were hundreds of people asking the same questions that I had. I spent hours reading the threads, comments, and analysis of doctors and ENT’s. I am not crazy!

“It’s called Phantosmia.

Phantom smelling of cigarette smoke, burning wires, or something rotting, is common and is nothing to be alarmed about. Often, the problem will go away on its own, and in some cases, it has been cured by antibiotics inhaled as a nose spray. I suspected that mine may have been a sinus infection because months ago, whenever I sneezed, I could smell mold. The environment I work in supplies multiple sources for a sinus infection.

If the smell issue remains for a long period of time, you should consult an ENT or neurologist to take your condition to the next level. One of the more serious things that can create the same symptoms is a brain tumor. A tumor that creates the illusion of smell would be located in the temporal lobe. This also interests me because I had a severe injury to my skull when I was a kid. A punch… (Different story), to the side of my head caused a blood clot the size of my fist. Surgery was performed after removing ALL OF MY HAIR… and multiple therapies began. This was also the end of my rock-star fantasy when a young nurse brought me my hair in a brown grocery bag, and left me to figure out that I was shaved beneath my bandages. Again… I am getting off the subject.

Several of the reports that I read on-line said that they were getting an MRI of their brain to check this possibility. There are other things that cause phantom smells such as a stroke, seizure, or epilepsy. Some people are not aware that they have had one of these conditions. Even if one of these disorders are benign, the smell problem can still be present. In any event, it sounds to me like a warning to find a specialist and have it checked out.

NOW! I am not a Doctor. As I stated, the information here was collected from the internet in an attempt to research my own problem. I welcome any input or suggestions and strongly suggest that you do your own research and don’t base your conclusion on any of my research.

Leave me a comment… tell me how you have dealt with a phantom-smell… or send me an email. Add “I smell smoke” to the title so I don’t think it’s spam.

AND, FOLLOW my blog. I have a book that will be out soon… I hope. The editor has had it now for six weeks. It is a fiction, but tells of a man who learned how to reverse his age and stay young indefinitely. I’ll send a notice when it’s available. It’s called Longue’ Duree, if the editor hasn’t changed that too.

#medical #Health #Boat #Yacht #Carpentry Cigarette, #research #Medical #RocknRoll #LongHair #sailing #Smell #Odor #

Author: David Alexander

Writer David Alexander’s life has had as many twists and plot changes as his books. College in Cincinnati for commercial art was sidelined for the construction industry. His writing started there, as therapy for the stress of owning a business. David learned to sail, and vacationed on a sailboat in the Caribbean, every December. He fell in love with St. Croix and shut down the Ohio business permanently. Moving 2200 miles, he built and ran condominiums in St. Croix, USVI. Now, living on the east coast of Florida, David builds interiors for 70’ luxury yachts. The years of stories in the marinas, and experiences in many countries, fuel the keyboard of this lucky writer. He has done with little effort what many hope to experience on their bucket list. View all posts by David Alexander