Aging can effect smell

While we run to the doctor to have our eyes and ears checked every year, there is one of the five senses that goes virtually unnoticed. Unnoticed that is, until there is a problem. There are more than 14 million people in America over the age of 55 that have impairment in their Olfactory factory! You may scoff at the notion that this impairment is a real issue until you consider that people with a reduced sense of smell may not:

· Be able to detect a gas leak
· Smell a fire
· Smell something burning on their stove or in their oven
· Be able to detect spoiled foods in their refrigerators
· Be able to detect when they are breathing in toxic fumes

A loss of smell can occur as we age because the sensory nerves are not able to regenerate as quickly. Not to mention that if you smoke, (in addition to all the other nasty things smoking can do to you), you hinder that turnover of new cells even more. There are also certain medications like antibiotics, anti-cancer and cholesterol lowering drugs that retard this cell regeneration.

Because loss of smell has been widely overlooked, there is little available in the way of treatment, however there are some things you can do to minimize the effects of this loss:

· Stop smoking (you know this already, so just stop it)
· Label and date your perishable food items.
· Install natural gas detectors in your home
· Replace natural gas appliances with electric ones
· Make sure your smoke detectors work and change the batteries twice a year.