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Does alcohol reduce your sense of smell?

post #1 of 14
2/14/13 at 11:03pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't had a drink since New Year's Eve (dry January and trying to lose weight) and I've definitely noticed my sense of smell has improved, so I've been enjoying my collection of frags much more recently. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

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post #2 of 14
2/15/13 at 12:24am
Never noticed this. However for me personally my taste in fragrance can chagge depending on how inebriated I am lol I remember sniffing my decants while drunk and the ones I liked were different than if I was sober hmm.
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post #3 of 14
2/15/13 at 12:29am
Haven't had that happen to me, but I did some investigating and this is a pretty interesting subject. My first thought was that with drinking people often smoke, so I was going to blame it on the smoke. But I found quite a few articles that mention a weakening of your sense of smell when drinking alcohol. This article talks about thing you should so to retain your olfactory sense. I saw some surprising things in there and I will be driving a lot more carefully now, I can't imagine being in an accident and losing my sense of smell, I don't even want to think about losing it at all since I would be devastated.
Have you also noticed your food tasting different? A buddy of mine recently quit smoking after 15 years and he now can't eat all the hot foods he once loved since his taste buds have come back to life. Wondering if u have anything similar with no booze.

http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/sh...ell-and-taste/
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post #4 of 14
2/15/13 at 12:31am
Never noticed this either.
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post #5 of 14
2/15/13 at 5:32am
Never noticed this.
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post #6 of 14
2/15/13 at 6:40am
I can confirm that (via vigorous and thorough testing) my sense of smell remains intact despite various levels of intoxication for sustained lengths of time.
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post #7 of 14
2/15/13 at 7:02am
I haven't noticed. At first an alcohol buzz seems to intensify everything. The purpose of an aperitif is to stimulate the appetite. As the drinking wears on it probably dulls the senses, but by then you're too sozzled to notice or care. I suspect that chronic alcohol abuse, over time, would tend to diminish a lot of things, including sensory input.
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post #8 of 14
2/15/13 at 7:28am
Influences gourmand fragrances a bit...
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post #9 of 14
2/15/13 at 7:56am
I never noticed this but to be honest...it could be due that your overall health is improving which I would assume would improve all your senses. I remember when I first started to train. My overall strength, balance, stamina ect...improved!
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post #10 of 14
2/15/13 at 7:57am
This may explain many things...
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post #11 of 14
2/15/13 at 8:36am
My sense of smell and feeling decreases whilst I'm intoxicated
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post #12 of 14
2/15/13 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelerOpera View Post

Have you also noticed your food tasting different? A buddy of mine recently quit smoking after 15 years and he now can't eat all the hot foods he once loved since his taste buds have come back to life. Wondering if u have anything similar with no booze.

I've noticed my sense of taste is heightened, but it hasn't put me off any type of food.

To clarify, I'm not talking about what happens to your sense of smell when you're actually drunk, but instead what happens to it in extended periods of time when you're drinking moderately.



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post #13 of 14
2/15/13 at 3:36pm
Have not noticed any diminished sense of smell with moderate drinking, WillC.
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post #14 of 14
2/16/13 at 3:49am
I definitely am not able to fine-tune with my nose when I'm drunk.
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