Osmophobia or olfactophobia refers to a fear, aversion, or psychological
hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usually referred to as an over-reaction of the immune ...
to
odor
An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
s. The
phobia
A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoi ...
generally occurs in chronic
migraine
Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few hou ...
sufferers who may have ''odor triggered'' migraines. Such migraines are most frequently triggered by foul odors, but the hypersensitivity may extend to all odors. One study found as many as 25% of migraine sufferers had some degree of osmophobia. The condition may also be present in individuals in substance withdrawal, specifically opioid withdrawal syndrome, where it is usually associated with nausea and/or vomiting.
The term ''osmophobia'' comes from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
ὀσμή - ''osmē'', meaning "smell, odour" and φόβος - ''phobos'', "fear". ''Olfactophobia'' comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''olfacto'', "to smell at".
olfacto
Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, ''A Latin Dictionary'', on Perseus
See also
*List of phobias
The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος ''phobos'', "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental dis ...
*Olfactory reference syndrome
Olfactory reference syndrome (ORS) is a psychiatric condition in which there is a persistent false belief and preoccupation with the idea of emitting abnormal body odors which the patient thinks are foul and offensive to other individuals. People ...
References
External links
*
*{{cite journal , author=Kelman L , title=Osmophobia and taste abnormality in migraineurs: a tertiary care study , journal=Headache , volume=44 , issue=10 , pages=1019–23 , year=2004 , pmid=15546266 , doi=10.1111/j.1526-4610.2004.04197.x , s2cid=11480855
Phobias