My daughter in the last month has aquired an extremely sensitive sence of smell. It started one night when she didn't like the smell of my stir-fry and stayed in her room for 2 hours. Last night I burnt something and she got hysterical from the smell. I literally went downstairs in the basement and got one of my husband's disposible masks for her to wear. She cried for 45 minutes and stayed in her room and fell asleep for the night. She asesses the smell of everywhere we go, including telling her grandma she smelled like "meatloaf" one morning. (luckily grandma thought it was funny).
Has anyone experienced this before with their children? Normal, abnormal? Any suggestions on something I can have her smell as an alternative to something she's smelling that seems to be unfavorable? This is seeming to be really traumatic for her.
Thanks for all the great info. After lots of thought, I have realized she is a very sensory-oriented child. She's very sensitive to loud noises and lights too. If I even raise my voice a little she gets upset. And I remember her being very easily startled as a baby. I'm going to do some research on some coping strategies for these sorts of things. Thanks! UPDATE~since my post, she's slacked off some on the smell issue. Just a phase I guess.
My 4 year old is kinda the same. He will gag and throw up if he smells something he dosen't like. try to calm him down by taking him to another room and breath through his nose until he feels better. Also I was thinking of getting him some scratch and sniff stickers to smell if he wants. I use frebreez room spray to it takes the oder out of the air and leaves a good sent. Hope this helps.
I was like that as a child. I to this day am very sensitive to both smell and hearing. It got even worse when I was pregnant. I use to smell everything I don't know why but I think I was just a weird child. I have alot of problems with my sensitive ears as an adult. I am very quiet and can't stand alot of people in societys behavior and obnoxious sounds, music and bass and have a hard time getting along with neighbors. I really like the smell of laundry like the clean cotton candle from yankee maybe find a pleasant smell for your daughter and let her have that when something upsets her. Good Luck
I can remember this happening to me when I was a little girl. I had to avoid the perfume dept's because the strong smells would make me start to vomit and have terrible stomach aches. My 4 year old daughter gags everytime we walk by the coffee stands and she smells everything also. You could try giving her one of the flavored chap sticks of a smell she likes, this way she can put it on when there is an unpleasent smell for her. Taste and smell are strongly linked and this works really well. Mint is the best one because it is so strong. Good luck! BTW I am not autisic either...nor my daughter. One more thing, my daughter is adopted so this is not a genetic thing in our family
For my job at BCBSMN in the Behavioral health department, i am aware of the signs of autism, this sounds like it COULD be a beginning sign of autism. I would speak with your peditrican for testing or just see if it goes away
Hi C.! That is so funny that you write about this because I myself actually experienced this growing up and still do but not in the extreme. I can clearly remember a big party that my parents were having when I was around 5 years old.They made curry or something strong like that. I went ballistic. The smell just got to me and I went crazy. I still couldn't tell you why it happened. I remember on another occasion that we went to a family friends (who were German) and they made a very strong smelling cheese Fondu. I got really upset and burst into tears. The only thing I can think of is that I get really bad migraines from strong smells. I don't know if I had headaches then (I don't think so). My parents called me "the nose" and I can still smell things a mile away. My only advice is to listen to your child and believe her when she says she doesn't like the smell of something. I think that was great that you got her a mask, I only wish my parents would have done the same. I would also make sure to let her get some fresh air outside or open a window when she is having a reaction because that has always worked for me. I don't really recommend offering her alternative smells or other smells that are strong. It might irritate her more. And if this helps, I am not autistic.
Not sure why she is reacting so strongly. perhaps trying a pleasant scent like lavender would help...real lavender not the sythetics out there. She may even enjoy smelling a variety of scented lotions, soaps etc. If you live in the Twin Cities, there's a few options I can reccomend.
I was hesitant to respond, because I don't have any answers for you but am curious if you found out anything on this. Your 3 your old's smell issue is the story of my childhood and life. Since my earliest recollection odors have been an issue. I was highly sensitive and reacted the same way your daughter seems to be reacting. Interestingly, I could not stand the way my own mother smelled. I would cry if I had to ride in the car with her and could not open the window. I could tell you years worth of stories and the ends that I would go to in order to avoid smells and to keep smells that I enjoyed. I basically go through life with the nose of a bloodhound, but the good news is the older she gets, the more she will be able to rationalize that this is beyond her control and that of others and it will be an inconvenience rather than a trauma. Good luck.
My son has a similar ultra sensitivity to sound and other sensory experiences. He is within the autism spectrum however. I would definately contact your pediatrician. I'm not saying that your daughter is autistic, but since the sense of smell is something controlled in the brain, and especially since this is something that you haven't noticed before, you may want to ask your pediatrician about it to be safe.
There is a program in Hudson Wisconsin for children with over/underreation to senses. There might be something up in northern Minnesota that is similar. Your pediatrician would know. You may also try contacting your school district. I started the evaluation process for my son through the school district and they were wonderful and so helpful.
Any time something worries you, it doesn't hurt to contact your doctor. The worse thing that could happen is the doctor will say its a phase and you'll feel a little foolish. But if you feel troubled by it, you should definately look into it.
Good luck.
Hi C.,
I don't have experience with this, but I have noticed that at bath and body works they have coffee beans in a jar to smell in between scense to neutralize the previous scent. If she likes the smell of coffee maybe the alternative scent would help??? I also have a couple charcol nuggets in the bottom of my garbage to help keep the icky smells out of the cans. Seems to help us here.
I hope it helps,
A.
My son does this! Well, he assesses the smell of everywhere and everything. Saying, "This building smells like such and such" or "Grandma's car smells like...". He's actually really acute. It started when he was three-ish and it's very interesting, but has never been a problem. I'm sure it's probably the same thing your daughter is doing, but if she's having actual discomfort it never hurts to visit the pediatrician.
