I found out yesterday that one of the symptoms of the COVID-19 virus is losing one's sense of taste and smell. Doctors are adding this to the list of screening tools.
The condition of losing one's smell and taste is known as anosmia. It can be caused by head injury, infection, or blockage of the nose. Approximately 1 in 8 Americans over the age of 40 have this problem. It is also known as smell blindness, or being 'nose blind'. When people have an absence of smell at birth, it often takes a few years before they realize the absence, and tell their parents.
Smell and taste are considered a pleasure experience. The absence of these mean the distinctions and differences of smell and flavours are lost. This, according to one doctor:
"When you lose your sense of smell, your whole sense of food flavor is distorted and diminished," Cowart says. "You can still taste the basic tastes which are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami or savory. What you're missing are the sort of subtle distinctions, the difference between strawberry and banana; between chocolate and vanilla."
Smell and taste has a safety aspect: There are also the warning things that keep people safe. Is the milk sour, is something burning on the stove, is there a gas leak?
There are other medical conditions involved in smell: There is the partial loss of smell - hyposmia. More serious to me is Paraosmia - the illusion or hallucination of a smell - usually a bad odour such as drains or faeces.
The medically therapeutic potential of aromas has been proven in scientific studies. Papers have been published since the 1920's outlining the effects of essential oils on the nervous system, and their influences on moods and emotions. In 1998, patients with advanced dementia were the subject of a controlled experiment using diffused lavender oil, and it was effective in improving 60 percent of patients' behaviour compared with the placebo. Lavender is well-known as a relaxant, and bees have been observed to fall asleep in lavender plants.
The science of aroma-chology is dedicated to the study of the interrelationship between psychology and fragrance technology to elicit a variety of specific feelings and emotions. This seems to me to explain the many different smells we have in every day products - from cleaners, air fresheners, soaps, and skin care products to paper. There are so many synthetic fragrances that fragrance-free is a phrase that implies non-toxic living.
So as we move into Spring, we move into flowers - some fragrant some not, and definitely with a benefit of Emotional Value, as outlined below.
