Is it possible that if you don't get vaccinated against flu your sense of smell may suffer? Maybe.
A small study of people who have problems with their sense of smell has found that being vaccinated against influenza may reduce the risk of you losing all or part of your sense of smell. Upper respiratory tract infections can cause an olfactory dysfunction, a problem with your ability to smell odors. Usually this dysfunction is temporary, but it can persist.
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta looked at records from 42 people who were treated for a dysfunction in their sense of smell that was diagnosed as either being due to an upper respiratory infection or from an unknown reason. They matched these people to 42 healthy people with no olfactory dysfunction. Vaccination records for 36 of the olfactory dysfunction patients and 38 of the healthy controls were examined. Seven of the people with problems with olfaction had been vaccinated against flu, compared to 16 of the healthy controls.
The loss of all or part of the sense of smell is not a minor problem. Your sense of smell helps keep you safe by detecting odors that can signify danger, such as smoke or spoiled food. Smell is a very large factor in the sense of taste, so a person with a poor sense of smell will not enjoy food as much.
The people who lost all or part of their sense of smell in this study lost it for from 3 to 48 months.
This is a small study and more research is needed to confirm the finding or determine what role preventing the flu plays in protecting a person's sense of smell.
Respiratory infections are thought to damage your sense of smell either directly or indirectly by causing inflammation in the nose and sinuses. Sinus disease, trauma to the nose, and tumors are other potential causes of the loss of the sense of smell. A poor sense of smell is also called hyposmia. A total absence of the sense of smell is called anosmia.
