Safety Emporium for all your lab and safety needs

Anorexia

Glossary Index

Anoxia

MSDS Topics	Free Sites	FAQ's	Regulations	Glossary	Software	Suppliers
	Books	Forum	Poll	Fun stuff	Quiz	Store
Understand your MSDS with the MS-Demystifier				Search ALL our MSDS info

Anosmia

Definition

• Anosmia is the loss of the sense of smell. Do not confuse this term with, insomnia, which is loss of sleep.

• Hyposmia is a diminished (lowered) sense of smell. Anosmia can be considered complete hyposmia.

• Dysosmia is a distorted sense of smell.

Additional Info

Anosmia can be temporary or permanenent and can be induced by chemical exposure, head or brain injury, illness and other factors. Although it may at first glance appear to have no major impact or even some benefit in everyday life, anosmia means doing without the little joys of life - the scent of food, fresh air, fine wine etc. Anosmia can even be fatal. How? Certain toxic chemicals have strong detectable odors at low levels. But at higher levels, these saturate your smell receptors ("olfactory fatigue") and you can no longer smell the material. See MSDS Relevance below. An anosmic person can not smell smoke in a burning building. An anosmic person might not detect that the food he is eating is spoiled.

Teach your employees about MSDS's with posters and pamphlets from Safety Emporium.

MSDS Relevance

If a substance can cause anosmia, do not rely on the odor to detect it!

For example, hydrogen sulfide, H₂S, has the distinctive odor of rotten eggs at or below 10 parts per million (ppm) in air. If you were exposed to an H₂S leak and the concentration went above 10 ppm, you might be lulled into thinking that the leak had stopped because you could not smell it anymore. Unfortunately, H₂S can be fatal at concentrations of several hundred ppm.

Further Reading

Warn your employees about workplace hazards and policies with signs, training materials and more from Safety Emporium.

Anosmia a terrific resource "for those who have lost their sense of smell and taste." The Anosmia Foundation is full of info on this disorder. Disorders of Taste and Smell at eMedicine.com, a resource for health care professionals. Possible Causes of Anosmia at iVillage. MSDS for Hydrogen Sulfide at Matheson Tri-Gas (122 Kb download). Smell - Impaired and Treatment at Hendrick Health System. See also: acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, neurotoxin. Additional definitions from Google and OneLook.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is believed to be true and accurate, however ILPI makes no guarantees concerning the veracity of any statement. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. ILPI strongly encourages the reader to consult the appropriate local, state and federal agencies concerning the matters discussed herein.