4 Surprising Things Your Nose Can Tell You About Your Health
No one appreciates their sense of smell when they pass a trash heap or accidentally step in dog poop. But your nose knows a lotnot just when things stink. In fact, your ability to smell, or not, can tell you a lot about your health. Here's why you shouldn't take your whiffing powers for granted. A bad sense of smell can signal an early death, Feel like your sense of smell has gone south over the years? If it's less than stellar, it could be a tip-off that you're not in good health. A new study from the University of Chicago Medical Center found that not being able to detect certain odors had an increased risk of dying within five years. A whopping 39 of older patients who couldn't pick up on scents like orange, rose, and peppermint died within that time frame, compared to only 19 of so-so smellers, and 10 of good smellers. HEALTH.COM How to Live to 100, Poor smell detection may be a sign of Alzheimer's, Not being able to smell well could signal the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, according a Harvard Medical School study. Participants with elevated levels of amyloid plaques telltale proteins found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients who performed worse on an odor identification test also had greater brain cell death. Why? When the disease starts to kill brain cells, this often includes cells crucial for your sense of smell. HEALTH.COM 25 Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, Smelling something weird could predict a stroke, Some people pick up on more scents than others, but brief episodes of smelling something completely off-baselike fish when there isn't any aroundmay be a sign of stroke or a seizure. The American Academy of Neurology says these "olfactory hallucinations" are usually unpleasant smells, but they can differ from person to person, according to the Mayo Clinic. Contact your doctor right away if your nose seems to be going haywire. HEALTH.COM 10 Stroke Symptoms Everyone Should Know, Imagining odors can precede a migraine, While it's relatively uncommon, people may also hallucinate a smell as part of a pre-migraine aura, according to a review of research done by the Montefiore Headache Center. Again, the scents were mostly unpleasant the most common were of things burning or decomposing. HEALTH.COM 18 Signs You're Having a Migraine