Olfaction /Sense of smell:
(Mom of 3 year old kid) My kid starts shouting and throwing things at house in the evening whenever I worked in kicthen… no matter how much his father tried to calm him he would continue to be aggressive, cranky. He would remain same even if I come back to him to calm him down leaving all the kitchen work in middle … for sometime… we gradually realized it wasn’t the separation anxiety from mother… he would get aggressive only after I start getting veggies sorted in frying pan with certain spices… the smell of those fried spices irritated him and always made him uncomfortable… it was nothing but the olfactory processing problem!!
Olfactory system (sense of smell) enables us to receive information from environment around us particularly regarding smells. Information about the odor molecules in the environment is sent to brain through the nerves which is sensed by sensory receptors located at nose. Olfactory system lets us differentiate the variety of smells and thus identify if these are dangerous, calming, foul, strong, pleasurable etc.
Olfactory system not only processes the smell but is also related to sense of taste. It helps in creating the flavors in the food we taste. Think about the situation where we don’t feel like eating anything when we have cold… as nothing tastes good.
It is also directly related to the limbic system, which is responsible for emotions and memories. This results in strong association of certain smells with memories and emotions. Explains well why perfumes are so much gifted by lovers…
A healthy olfactory system allows us to tolerate the smell of food and other things in the environment around us without making us uncomfortable. It also enables us to tolerate the bad smell within limits without any extreme reactions. With the help of healthy olfactory system we can also differentiate between good, bad, dangerous, safe smell.
Olfactory Hypersensitivity:
Children with hypersensitivity to smell have hard time in, both with smelling the foods on their plates and with tasting the food in their plate. They can’t correlate pleasure with smells that most of us associate with good memories or experiences, like smelling the flower in garden.
Let’s have a quick look at key features:
Avoiding particular smell.
Becomes agitated /frustrated around certain smells.
Tend to resort to “fight or flight” methods.
Gags with certain smells or foods.
Avoids familiar foods due to smells.
Foods don’t taste appealing.
Tell other people they stink.
Avoids public places.
Does not like being hugged or close to other people.
Olfactory Hyposensitivity:
There are children may demonstrate decreased sensitivity to smells (hyposensitivity). They seem to crave certain smells, frequently holding non-food items to their noses to smell them (e.g. crayons, toys, etc.). These children may not be able to differentiate between “safe” and “dangerous” smells, which can lead to safety issues (e.g. being drawn to strong smells like cleaning chemicals or strong-scented permanent markers).
Smells objects that seem odd
Enjoy strong scents
Prefer foods with strong smells
Can’t avoid smelling things often
Doesn’t notice dangerous smells
Prone to eating/ drinking dangerous items due to the inability to smell “danger
Trouble identifying smells of foods
Smells objects constantly
Smells people constantly
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