Answering The Man Who Said He Could Smell His Triggers

By Tabatha

3 min read

The following story submission is in response to John Bottrell's article, "Does Asthma Increase Your Sense of Smell?"

If you walk into a building and don't smell your triggers I think it's as simple as that building just doesn't have anything to bother you. I bought a new house years ago and it had a nice new smell that didn't bother me in any way. But it wasn't long before I was smelling a musty smell that made my asthma worse. It was more in the kitchen off the garage but not so much when I came in the front door.

Now 25 years later I am still bothered by it. My husband doesn't notice it. We've removed carpet in the bedroom and living area and air cleaners were not strong enough. I've used air fresheners and tried to have ducts cleaned but the ceiling is too high, nobody else smells what I do and I put it down to 'sensitivity' as opposed to allergy.

Smelling my asthma triggers at home

We went house hunting at some point in secondhand houses and some were clean smelling while others drove me crazy (knew it had to be dust mites and old dust maybe under the beds and cabinets) and I had to get out. Doctors' offices too - they put in new carpet and they shouldn't or they are so old they need to repainted or something, but then the paint would be a bother to me. So many things can set me off, just like in John's article (but I can't specifically ID where a smell comes from).

An allergist told me I was badly allergic to dust mites, dust and moulds (outdoor I think), and oak trees especially. So I hired a cleaning lady to no avail. We may not have so many dust mites and I don't smell dust, as she cleans every 2 weeks and all the oak trees surrounding our house don't seem to bother me outside, but that could be the musty smell the A/C is pulling into the house through the garage. I went on allergy shots for 5 years, again to no avail. It made not the slightest bit of difference to anything so I stopped, and I figure those triggers are causing sensitivities and not true allergies where I'd be breaking out or not able to breathe or something serious.

Identifying asthma triggers by smell

What may make your situation different, in that you really can detect individual smells, might be if you can identify a smell when you are living with it. For example, when I go out of the house to go to a restaurant or shopping or just driving in the car so I'm gone for a few hours and my nose has readjusted, then I come home, THAT is when I notice the awful air in the house. But when I'm home all the time and living in it, the air could be as fresh as outdoors because I don't smell anything really bad. It only happens when there is a comparison with good air or outdoors. And that is sort of what you are experiencing when you go into another house or the basement or another room.

But I just had a thought - my breathing is not as deep as it normally would be due to COPD so I'm surface breathing, if you know what I mean, and I probably would smell bad air all the time if I could breathe more deeply. And that is a scary thought. Right now my husband is cleaning out our garage and washing the floor and I've asked him to use Clorox on it to really freshen it and get rid of stuff laying around so I can see if the smell is really coming from the garage air.

Learning how to identify my asthma triggers by smell

I relate to everything you refer to but likely it's the sensitivity that hits you first so you just know it's got dust mites or mould or something there. If you really could ID each smell I'd love it if you came to my house to ID my awful smell problem. I even had the same exact problem at my old house! Musty smell all the time and when I sold it I went back to visit the lady who bought it and it was wonderful - all clean and fresh. She'd removed the carpets and put in tile. My husband tells people that I have a strong sense of smell - bacon cooking, meat on the BBQ, strong chemical smells of cleaning supplies, the new washing machine horrible smell detergent all bother me, yet he can't smell any of it. He thinks I'm crazy.

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John Bottrell, RRT Moderator & Contributor
Hi. <inline-mention username="Tabatha" user-id="7020803"/> Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's really interesting how you've connected your sense of smell to your asthma triggers -- as I have. Your theory about noticing the difference in air quality when coming home after being out is particularly intriguing. It seems like your heightened sensitivity plays a significant role in your experience with certain smells. It's not uncommon for individuals with respiratory conditions to have unique sensitivities that others might not notice. Your observation about surface breathing due to COPD and how it might affect your ability to detect bad air all the time is a thought-provoking insight. I appreciate your openness in sharing your journey, and I'm glad my article resonated with you. It's clear that managing asthma triggers is a complex and individualized process. If there's anything further you'd like to discuss or explore further, feel free to let me know. Your perspective adds valuable insights to the conversation. Wishing you all the best. John. author/ community moderator. 
1. Melissa.Arnold Community Admin
 <inline-mention username="Tabatha" user-id="7020803"/> Please please please -- don't ever feel like you're posting too much or being a bother!! This space was *created* to give people with asthma the opportunity to connect and share with each other. There are so few situations where you/we can feel truly understood by folks that "get it." Everyone on the team cares deeply about what brings you here and what you're going through, so make yourself at home. Sending hugs to you! p.s. If you ever feel like you want to talk about something in more detail or write about your personal experiences, maybe you'll like the Stories section. You can post there by visiting <a href='http://www.asthma.net/stories' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>www.asthma.net/stories</a>. Of course, that's only if you want to. No pressure ever! -Melissa, asthma team
2. John Bottrell, RRT Moderator & Contributor
 Hi. <inline-mention username="Tabatha" user-id="7020803"/> How are you doing today? I am the same way. I also get excited about new topics and writing about them. And I too hesitate about writing about certain topics -- and perhaps that is normal for us writers. But ,what we do is important, as this is how we get the word out about what it is like living with asthma and in your case, COPD. And just so you know, I actually enjoy reading your stories, so please do not hesitate to write more about your asthma or copd experiences, either right here on this thread that you started or by visiting the link that <inline-mention username="Melissa.Arnold" user-id="3030220"/> provided in her comment above. Also, since you mention that you also have COPD, we also have a copd community that you may find helpful as well. I also write and moderate over there, so I look forward to seeing you if you want to check it out (if you haven't discovered it already). I will post the link here. (<a href='https://copd.net/community' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://copd.net/community</a>). I love it when people write about their own personal experiences with the various inhalers, so your testimony about the medicines that help you is much appreciated. And you are spot on about the importance of using good technique and posture when using your inhalers. Wishing you all the best. John. community moderator
Tabatha Member
Hi, John & Melissa - I belong to the COPD Foundation also and the Bronchiectasis Fndtn. and another Asthma site. I do surveys for all and get confused as to whether I've already done the survey as sometimes I think they repeat or have Part 2 and 3 etc. I love doing surveys, answering questions. Maybe this should go on Stories - if you think so perhaps you can move it over there. One story I can pass on and probably wrote some years back - I was dxd with Non Tuberculosis Mycobacteria gordonae. I went into heavy research mode and learned it was a type that could be affected by what the lab did and not to worry about it. I went to infectious disease doctor and she told me if she had it she would not treat it. Four antibiotics for several years etc. So I did ignore it. I think the next test done was negative. And I wasn't sick. Then the next year or so my Pulm. Doc. said I had MAC but again I wasn't sick but the blood work was positive and it is not one that should be ignored. I didn't go to the Inf. Dis. Doc. but I went to my natural doctor instead and he gave me IVs of Vitamin C 50,000 ml along with some additional additives of vitamins. I had 10 weeks once a week and at the end of it the MAC was not evident on a sputum test, so presumably it cleared it up. I have not had a sputum test since. I probably should as I have lots of mucus but I don't think about it. Medicare used to pay for Vitamin C IVs but they don't anymore but if I wanted to pay that much (I think $150 ea wk) I would definitely do it again. I think Vit. C in large doses can prevent or help a lot of different diseases and along with Vitamin D3 - I take 5000 units a day. I have what I think are a lot of lung conditions but the only time I have problems is when I don't take my steroid inhaler and of course if I have an exacerbation, and then I've learned to call the doctor as soon as I realize like within 2 or 3 days. NOT like previously when I waited until my chest was so painful from coughing and I coughed non stop 24/7 - it took 3 wks before I'd think to call the doctor, believing I'd just get better on my own. I know better now and actually WANT the antibiotic and maybe Prednisone - it seems like I do have to have that combination now. This year I was in hospital for 3 awful days with no food, no water and no saline drip or whatever they give you for fluids. I wrote and complained afterward and was told that I got the best care and they were sorry that I was not satisfied. They sent me home after 3 days and I found I couldn't breath but I couldn't go back because I wanted to eat and have fluids and water. My oxygen was down to 88 for 2 wks and I didn't know what to do - FINALLY THOUGHT of my Pulm Doc. and he gave me oxygen and large antibiotic - I had Augmentin and another time had that other popular antibiotic that I've forgotten the name of. And the CT scan I had in the hosp. showed my progression to Emphysema, and might have mentioned Pulm Fibrosis - that was mentioned by a doctor somewhere down the line but I'm not sure it's very bad at this point as nothing was really talked about. And Interstitial Lung Disease I was told I had years ago. Doctors refer to these names like they talk about the weather and they don't think that we don't know what they are or what they mean and nothing more is said. I don't think that is classed as part of COPD. I think I suffer from Asthma and Bronchiectasis mostly as I have mucus coming up quite often and that can be embarrassing if it happens when I'm out so I make sure I take 2 600 mg Mucinex for sure the night before or that morning and try to drink lots of water to help bring the mucus up. I can't help the emphysema other than inhalers and I can't do anything about the scar tissue contributing to the Fibrosis - I suspect that is not bad at this point. When I was 13 living in Canada, I had pneumonia and that was not the first time - I'd had it in England I think when I was younger or if not I had several bouts of something bad in damp and cold England where we went to bed with hot water bottles and socks and my mother often gave me hot water, lemon juice, brown sugar and I swear Rum! Otherwise how would I have known about it?? Anyway, along with the pneumonia I got a lung abscess in the right lung, upper lobe AND my lung collapsed. It was Penicillin that saved me. The doctor came to our house every day to check on me and that one night he brought the drug and they gave it to me - I didn't even know what was happening I was so sick but the drug saved my life. I don't know why they didn't give it to me much earlier but maybe the doctor didn't have it on hand and it had to be ordered. So the combination of all that gave me scar tissue which my Pulm Doc. 25 years ago (199😎 saw on a CT scan. Then 13 years or so ago I had breast radiation but that was the left side - anyway that I understand can cause scarring also. So I have scattered scarring and scattered Bronchiectasis but it is all over the lungs, with a more dense area in the right middle lobe. If I stopped to think about all this and other problems with my body like osteoporosis, scoliosis, a fusion in my lower back, and pronated feet, I think I'd go crazy, but what I've done is research every one of those things (some people wouldn't even think about it and wouldn't want to know, but I'm the opposite) and that makes me calmer altho at the same time I tend to stay home and be less active because I spend so much time at my desk and computer but I feel a need to understand my different conditions and that takes away the fear for me. (I do want to say now though, that I think I would have been better off canoeing, kayaking, being more active as I would have been stronger and so would my lungs. I stopped being physically active, we sold our bikes years ago and years after we'd stopped riding them. I was sorry I hadn't kept up riding. Tomorrow I start Pulm. Rehab. I had exercises to build my lungs back up when I went on oxygen in March but I've slipped again and so the Rehab will build me back up again. I wish I had the stamina to keep it up all the time. I sent my oxygen equipment back though last month as my oxygen is up around 97 again. I think I manage very well with only 2 visits a year with my Pulmonary doctor if I don't have an exacerbation.
1. John Bottrell, RRT Moderator & Contributor
 Hi. <inline-mention username="Tabatha" user-id="7020803"/> I appreciate your detailed update. Feel free to keep your comment here; there is no need to move it. I'm glad to hear that you've started pulmonary rehab -- it's a great way to restore lung and overall health. And it sounds like you are doing a great job of educating yourself and effectively managing your lung conditions -- especially now that your oxygen level is back to 97 again. I hear you about wanting to know exactly what diseases you have -- as that is the best way of learning about and effectively managing your conditions. I am wondering if it may be time to set an appointment with your pulmonologist to discuss and clarify your specific diagnosis. This way you can get a clearer understanding of your situation and work together to determine the most effective treatments for you. Have you had the chance to explore this option yet? Wishing you all the best. John. community moderator.
Tabatha Member
Hi, John, coincidentally I have appt. with Pulm. Doc. tomorrow!! With your suggestion I will go with the idea of doing just that and pinpoint exactly - but he is not really the type to get all detailed and such. He is the type to answer his cell phone if it rings and he makes notes even before I've finished talking or asking questions. He is brief, I would say. SO I will start out with that question first - we did the last PFT before I got the bad exacerbation in March so he won't have up to date info, altho he does have the CT scan report and that may be enough. Pulm. Rehab went OK yesterday - I was surprised they take your BP and Oxy levels after every exercise. That will be interesting to see how it progresses as the exercises get harder. At least it is more fun than going to the gym (for me at least). And I saw all kinds of men and women with the same problems and some of them on oxygen. I might end up the same once I get going more. What I mean is that I may end up having to wear oxygen when riding the bikes and so on as they speed me up and make things harder.
1. John Bottrell, RRT Moderator & Contributor
 Hi. <inline-mention username="Tabatha" user-id="7020803"/> Thank you again for the update. Glad to hear that your pulmonary rehabilitation appointment went well for you. Yes, the therapists that do pulmonary rehab to a thorough job of monitoring your oxygen levels and blood pressure -- this is a way of monitoring how you are doing and also progressing over time. It's understandable that the prospect of eventually needing oxygen might be a concern. But remember: one of the goals of therapies like pulmonary rehab. is to help prevent the progression of your lung disease. That said, you posted your comment yesterday. Would you mind giving us an update as to how your visit with your pulmonologist went? I am very interested in hearing what you have to say. Wishing you all the best. John. community moderator.

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