Last year at half term Miss M came home from school with a cold. being a generous child she shared it with several of us. It wasn't until she went back to school after the summer break that I really noticed that I could not smell things. I took notice and realised that I had lost my sense of smell and also that my sense of taste was practically nonexistent. I visited the doctore who prescribed steroid spray for my nose. I used it once and decided that squirting noxious chemicals into my brain through my nose was not something I will ever do again. The Doctor said that I might regain full smelling potential, or I might not. So obviously not something that has received much research funding.
I asked why this had happened. He didn't know. It could be the result of the virus or simply that my body had shut down that function - this is medicalese for "It's your age and we don't care why"
He did say that some function might return but it could result in somethings tasting odd. That's not an easy thing to accept when you like to cook. I can't try new recipes unless Mr M is in the house at the critical tasting moment. I always sniff eggs when I crack them - an old habit from when we kept chickens and they used to lay in hedgerows. Sometimes we didn't find the eggs for a while so you crack them, sniff the cracked egg and if you can smell it you throw it away. Fresh eggs hardly smell at all when first cracked. Same with milk. Sniff it and if you can smell it then it is old and as it has been pasturised old smelly milk is not safe to drink. So there I was, cracking eggs and sniffing them only to realise that I couldn't smell them anyway so I had to wait for Mr M to be there before I could bake!
I can taste grapes, pineapple, and coffee but not oranges... how strange. So the senses are coming back slowly. Perhaps I will even be able to taste chocolate before long.
1 comment:
Gosh, that must be so hard..I do hope you get to taste chocolate again soon. Preferably before Christmas, eh?
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