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Constant smoke smell in nasal passages.

I am a non-smoker. We are a non-smoking family. I am not around smokers at all. Why do I have the constant smell of smoke in my nose. It used to be just an occasional thing, but lately it seems to be all the time. I am concerned that this is a symptom of something I don't know about. The smell is strong. I used to notice it about a half hour after taking my Allegra-D 12 hr. tablets, but now I smell it much more often. Am I going crazy or is there something to this I'm not aware of. Has anyone else experienced this? Please help?
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Avatar universal
i have had a "smoky" smell in my nose since October 2010.  I have had a brain scan and a ct scan.  no allergies that i am aware of.  i don't drink caffeine.  i do eat chocolate.  it is driving me absolutely insane.  i have to pack my nose with vicks at night just to sleep.  it happens everywhere, anytime and comes an goes... sometimes lasting for weeks.  i am completely at a loss here.  when the smell is happening - it makes me almost sick to my stomach.  i'm forever finding something to smell so that it takes the place of the odor.  the only trigger i can find is stress..... it seems that if i start to get stressed - the smell hits.. sometimes with a vengence.
i sure don't know - but wanted to let others know that i am yet another one!
i didn't tell anyone for the longest time because i felt like i was being weird.  but it finally got so bad - i had to go to the doctor.
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Avatar universal
I have had this new symptom for the last three weeks. I was at my wits end and decided finally to go to the doctor. He has prescribed nasal steroid drops. We are also getting blood drawn and having an xray.

I'm wondering if animal feces may be the culprit. A month ago, I was helping my room mate's family empty out a shed. It was home to a bunch of skunks so everything we threw away had skunk feces and etc. on it.

It's hard to pinpoint this since by the time I went to the doctor, my symptoms weren't as bad. I think the drops are helping as well. I notice that coffee can sometimes trigger the smoke smell. When it was bad and I was desperate, I took to slurping down strong salsa and siracha sauce, then listerine. That would kill it for a long while. I'd read that garlic and peppers had a antibiotic property so I figured fresh salsa could do the trick.<<<This is why I'm NOT a doctor!!! ;) Any way I will see what happens after my testing this week.
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I stopped eating butter. It stopped the smoke smell.
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Does he drink strong coffee? Caffeine in larger doses can cause this, I've learned from experience.
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Caffeine. Too much caffeine, especially in pill form causes that. It goes away and seems to be annoying, but harmless.
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Avatar universal
"Cigarette Smoke" is as good a description as needs be although I've come to think of it as *not* smoke but the sensation of there not being enough oxygen in a smoke-filled room/bar (remember that?)

I get the sensation at home from time to time and in my car when the air conditioner is on.  If I open the car windows, it goes away.

My next step is to get both home and car systems checked for leaks.

I did just install an IQAir filter in my bedroom ( $900! ) and find it's helped about 10-20%.

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