Anosmia Awareness Day

Anosmia Awareness Day on the 27th of February is an important day for everyone that has been affected by smell loss. Most of us do not even realize what an important role the sense of smell plays in our lives and the problems people who are deprived of it face. Our sense of smell does not only let us smell and distinguish the different aromas that things have it can also act as a main early warning system for our bodies and help keep us safe.

Anosmia sufferers have been shown to be susceptible to dangerous situations such as gas leaks, fires, hazardous chemical vapors, and ingesting spoiled food. Additionally, people with smell loss can also experience difficulty with eating due to the close relationship between smell and taste. Studies also indicate that some individuals develop depression in response to feelings of social isolation, fears regarding safety and personal odor management, and a diminished connection to pleasure, emotion, and memory.

Daniel Schein, the man who launched Anosmia Awareness Day in 2012, says: “I started Anosmia Awareness as a way to bring together everyone interested in anosmia, encourage research and spread awareness.” Born with anosmia, Daniel is an American working at a US-based Technology Consulting firm. Daniel’s discovery that his congenital condition had a name, prompted him to create this special day.

Since that time Anosmia Awareness Day has become an international event, joined by thousands of people around the world and supported by leading research centers, including the Monell Chemical Senses Center and advocacy organization Fifth Sense. February 27th has become an important day on the calendar for anosmics, support groups and research centers.

Given that anosmia is a known symptom of Covid 19, the exposure that not just anosmia, but all smell and taste disorders have received, has been one positive that anosmics can take away from this tremendously difficult time. The nature of olfactory dysfunction and its consequences for an individual's safety and quality of life are still not widely understood though.

Through Anosmia Awareness Day and its website, AnosmiaAwareness.org, Daniel is committed to the mission of spreading awareness, encouraging research and serving as a central hub, where anosmia resources are pooled and organized for the anosmia community, their supporters, researchers and anyone wishing to learn more. Lets hope that one day the treatment options will be available for those who go about their life with anosmia.