I can't smell the smelly smell of something that smells smelly

Yes, you read that right (Thank you Spongebob)

I'm an anosmic. Anosmics cannot detect scents of any kind. Paraphrasing from the Anosmia Foundation: the term anosmia is to smell, as blindness is to sight, or deafness is to hearing.

As far as I know, I have never had a sense of smell. It's never bothered me nor has it caused me any harm thus far. I spent the weekend reading up on this, and was surprised to find out that there was actually a term for it. What really amazed me what the fact that there were lots of others in the world experiencing a similar disorder. I was touched by a thread on Tom Coates's blog (here) which was posted in February 2003. Surprisingly, the comments are still coming in after over 3 years. Each comment is an insight into the experience of others and it's amazing how we share similar experiences. Some are ironic and humourous, and others are simply touching.

In my case, I've never felt depressed about it. However, I've read of cases where people lose their sense of smell mid-way through their life, and fall into a state of depression. It's got to be an awful feeling.

It's funny that we take "our" sense of smell for granted. Being an anosmic, I can only taste the 5 distinctive tastes. I'm missing out on flavour. This explains why I've always had problems distinguishing coffee! Hazelnut & vanilla are nothing but sweet & sweeter to me.

I've never thought of it as a disability. But it's something to ponder about. Having read many articles, I'm a little more cautious of my surroundings now. Safety issues such as gas and petrol leakages tend to bug me, as I'm unable to sense these.

As you can imagine, hygiene is a top priority for me (and possibly, every other anosmic). I'd shower regularly, and apply more deodorant than a sane cow. I also rely on close friends to pick the right cologne - undoubtedly, this is a sweeter experience when I'm out with a loved one.

In some ways I envy those of you that enjoy the sense of smell - after all, it's supposedly 10,000 times more powerful than taste. But I'm just thankful that I've managed to get past my life with the best of my senses so far. Perhaps I'm well-endowed in other departments (positivity rocks!)

Some interesting reads:

• The Anosmia Foundation
• Anosmia on Wikipedia
• Nothing beats laughing it off with a dosage of humour
• Tom Coates on people who can't smell

By the way, Ben (Cohen) of Ben & Jerry's is an anosmic. So was Michael Hutchence of INXS. It's reassuring to know that their disability never prevented them from achieving great success.