JAKARTA - Often, only imagining a grass that has just been cut, a cup of coffee in the morning, or a roasted apple pie can trick your brain into imagining the smell.
But as you get older, your previously sharp sense of smell may decrease. It's true, the older a person is, especially after reaching the age of 70, the sense of smell can weaken, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) reported by LIvestrong, Monday, November 27.
"In fact, half of people over the age of 65 have experienced a decrease in sense of smell," said Philip Chen, MD, FARS, a professor of THT and Rinology at the University of Texas Center for Health Sciences at San Antonio.
Depending on the cause, this decrease in smell perception is known as hyposmia if it loses part and anosmia if it disappears completely. This may be temporary or permanent, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Let's find out what causes the elderly to lose their sense of smell, and learn what can be done to regain this ability.
Most people underestimate the sense of smell, but the ability to feel various aromas is important in many aspects of life and health. First, the perception of smell is closely related to the sense of taste. If the sense of smell decreases, food may begin to feel bland and less delicious, according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
And if this happens, it can discourage you from eating, which may lead to malnutrition, unhealthy weight loss, and even depression, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A weakened sense of smell can not only affect overall health and quality of life, but can also harm you. Without a sharp sense of smell, you will not be able to detect potentially harmful odors such as smoke, gas leakage, stale foods, and other harmful chemicals, according to the NIA.
To elaborate further, here are the common causes behind the loss of sense of smell:
"As we age, we experience loss of smell nerve fibers," said Dr. Chen.
No one really knows why this is happening, but "some people believe that neuroepithelium (where the sense of smell is) is experiencing setbacks with age, like other nerves in the body. This degeneracy causes a decrease in the number of smell sensory nerves and causes an olfaktorius bulk atrophy.
And with less nerves in the area of your nose you can't feel the smell well or strongly, says Dr. Chen.
As you get older, the body produces less mucus, which can affect the sense of smell. Mucus selaput in the nose contains a smell receptor cell, which plays an important role in the ability to smell, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
"Before the body can feel a smell, the smell enters the nasal cavity and must be absorbed into the mucus of the sense of smell layer," said Dr. Chen. This lender continues the smell to the smell receptor, he added.
Basically, mucus helps keep the scent on the nose long enough that your nerve ending can feel it, according to NLM. If your mucus is less, the ability to bring the smell to the right location decreases, and with that, your overall sense of smell is also reduced, says Dr. Chen.
But why is mucus production decreasing with age?
"We don't have all the answers yet," said Dr. Chen.
One of the theories is that mucus membranes that coat the nose are running low over time, thereby reducing the productivity of mucus-producing cells," he continued.
This depletion may be caused by poor blood circulation in mucus membranes, which can cause reduced humidity in the air you breathe and cause drought, he added.
As you get older, you usually tend to take medication for a medical condition. Apparently, certain types of drugs can worsen the sense of smell.
"Hundreds of drugs have reportedly caused loss or changes in smell," said Dr. Chen. The reason for this change depends on specific channels and the effects of drugs on the body.
"For example, some antidepressants are accumulated in cells, causing changes in cell biochemical properties and responses to stimuli such as odors," said Dr. Chen.
Other general drugs that can minimize the sense of smell include antibiotics and blood pressure drugs, according to NIA.
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The age of age is accompanied by an increased risk of serious medical disorders, some of which can affect your ability to smell.
"For example, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and dementia are related to loss of smell," said Dr. Chen.
In this case, nerves connected to parts of the brain that feel the smell or brain itself can worsen, thereby lowering a person's sense of smell, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"It's true, some people think that inflammation of the olfactory ball, where the sense of smell is connected to the brain, causes the nerves to not work properly," said Dr. Chen.
Unfortunately, loss of sense of smell often occurs beyond your control. However, there are several things that can be done in certain cases to stimulate the sense of smell, such as training smell, hydrating properly, using steroid fluids to clean the nose, and taking vitamins such as fish oil or vitamin A.
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