Phantom smells

[phorsenuf]

Lately I keep smelling cigarette smoke. Nobody here smokes and I smell it inside the house at random times. Does anyone else ever get this? It's so odd.

 

[LongLiveDisney]

It happened to us yesterday. Same here, no one smokes. It was gone this morning. So weird!

 

[njmom47]

Lately I keep smelling cigarette smoke. Nobody here smokes and I smell it inside the house at random times. Does anyone else ever get this? It's so odd.

This happens to me at work from time to time...we have a non-smoking building (of course) but it sure smells like someone smokes in the ladies room. I really don't think it's possible...I really don't, but I feel like I must be crazy but I really do smell it!

 

[Southernmiss]

Happens to me, too. Sometimes, if the window is open it's the smoke from the lady next door who smokes on her patio. Other times, there's no logical explanation. Maybe its a deceased relative coming around. I don't know...

 

[thedonduck]

http://m.voices.yahoo.com/diseases-smell-cigarette-smoke-5782098.html

Apparently this a syndrome and possibly a sign of major medical problem! Please don't think on trying to scare you or think you need to seek medical help , I just thought this was interesting!

 

[7165red]

WOW, that is something, thanks for the link.

 

[LSmith]

Lately I keep smelling cigarette smoke. Nobody here smokes and I smell it inside the house at random times. Does anyone else ever get this? It's so odd.

Weird. Lately, I often think that I'm smelling cigarette smoke in my home or car and I'm 100% sure that no one smokes.

 

[thedonduck]

WOW, that is something, thanks for the link.

You bet! I hope no one takes offense to it! I seriously enjoy reading up on various disorders and man does Dr. Google make that fun at times

 

[momz]

have you changed your furnace filter lately. maybe you've had some dust burn up in your furnace. It can cause a smell like that.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

We used to experience an odd phantom smell. (Not cigarette smoke) it was more like a nasty, stagnant smell. It as happening in the kitchen, dining room, and up the hall. I never could quite locate it because it wasn't in just one spot AND it was intermittent.

Finally one day I had ENOUGH, I pulled everything out of the kitchen, crawled around and started sniffing like a hound dog or something with a flashlight. I finally discovered it was the refrigerator's drip pan. When the refrigerator ran, it would blow that gosh awful smell out and circulate it. It was a new refrigerator too, like months old. Eventually they replaced it because they could not stop that from happening (after MANY service calls under warranty). The new one... exact same one *knock on wood* has not done anything like that.

In regards to phantom cigarette smoke, I used to live in an apartment and it smelled like smoke all the time...I am assuming it was because the neighbors on both sides were heavy smokers.

 

[SaraJayne]

Were the previous owners smokers?

 

[Nolcrest]

Sometimes when someone in my family eats pickles or salad dressing for some reason it smells like cigarette smoke to me. Go figure.

 

[indimom]

Phantom odors can have a medical cause (some more severe than others). I had a period where I kept smelling household cleaners and Bandaids. Always those two. And it was really, really strong. Almost overpowering, so I knew it wasn't real from the start. I would have had to hold it directly under my nose to get an odor that strong. And it would fade within minutes, five at most.
My doctor believed it was caused by polyps. I guess they irritate the sensory processes and trigger the brain into "thinking" it smells something. Hard to explain. I started using nasal spray to treat the polyps and haven't had a repeat phantom odor in a couple years.
But, there can be other more serious causes, so if it continues, I would check with a doctor.

 

[phorsenuf]

Thanks for all the replies. Glad to see I'm not alone. The previous occupants weren't smokers and before that this was a vacation rental home, so again, no smoking. I started thinking my husband had been sneaking a couple, but it's not him.
The medical links are interesting. If I think of it (and it's still happening) I'll mention it to my Dr at my next appointment.

 

[kimmar067]

http://m.voices.yahoo.com/diseases-smell-cigarette-smoke-5782098.html

Apparently this a syndrome and possibly a sign of major medical problem!

.... wow, that's scary!

 

[Stitchfans]

Often I wake up to a coffee brewing odor. I have it set up but my coffee maker doesn't have a timer on it. Maybe it is my head teasing me saying get up and get that coffee going.

Although this morning the whole house reeked of skunk since a stupid stunk has been hanging around the house lately. I was told it is mating season right now and that the skunk maybe looking around for the stray cats that hang around my home. Never thought about those two animals ever mating??Yuck! Pepi le pu!

 

[LukenDC]

The exact same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. I smelled cigarette smoke continuously for about four days. I had begun using a CPAP machine for the first time and I suspect that my olfactory hallucination was a psychological reaction to the machine. I hated it! I never used the CPAP again and have not had phantom smells since.

 

[tony111]

We can sometimes smell cigarette smoke in the house or car, we know our dear departed friend Gail is with us when this happens, she used to go thro' at least 40 a day. I can sometimes smell celery when no one else can, and shortly after, I get a migraine attack. Aren't us humans weird ?

 

[Feralpeg]

I randomly smell burnt toast. I've experienced this for years. It turns out that it is a sign of a silent migrain. I saw a neurologist and he said that random smells are a very common sign of a silent migrain and that they occur more often in women approaching menopause.

It's strange, but I'd rather have the smell than a full out painful migrain!

 

[PaulaSB12]

Lately I keep smelling cigarette smoke. Nobody here smokes and I smell it inside the house at random times. Does anyone else ever get this? It's so odd.

I work in a food factory making breakfast cereals. When I went in on wednesday night I could have sworn I smelt roast pork in the plant! Totally weird.