Osmophobia

{{Short description|Fear of or hypersensitivity to odors}}

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Osmophobia or olfactophobia refers to a fear, aversion, or psychological hypersensitivity to odors. Osmophobia seems to be a consistent part of the patient’s migraine history, but additional criteria are needed to differentiate it from episodic tension-type headache (ETTH). {{Cite journal |last1=Chitsaz |first1=Ahmad |last2=Ghorbani |first2=Abbas |last3=Dashti |first3=Masoumeh |last4=Khosravi |first4=Mohsen |last5=Kianmehr |first5=Mohammadreza |date=2017-04-17 |title=The Prevalence of Osmophobia in Migranous and Episodic Tension Type Headaches |journal=Advanced Biomedical Research |volume=6 |pages=44 |doi=10.4103/2277-9175.204587 |doi-access=free |issn=2277-9175 |pmc=5414411 |pmid=28503499}} The phobia generally occurs in chronic migraine sufferers who may have odor triggered migraines.{{Cite web |title=What's That Smell? An Expert Explains Phantom Smells and Osmophobia |url=https://www.migraineagain.com/phantom-smells-migraine/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=MigraineAgain.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last1=Albanês Oliveira Bernardo |first1=Albérico |last2=Lys Medeiros |first2=Fabiola |last3=Sampaio Rocha-Filho |first3=Pedro Augusto |date=2020-05-03 |title=Osmophobia and Odor-Triggered Headaches in Children and Adolescents: Prevalence, Associated Factors, and Importance in the Diagnosis of Migraine |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32293736/ |journal=Headache |volume=60 |issue=5 |pages=954–966 |doi=10.1111/head.13806 |issn=1526-4610 |pmid=32293736}}

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.{{Cite journal |last1=Zanchin |first1=G |last2=Dainese |first2=F |last3=Trucco |first3=M |last4=Mainardi |first4=F |last5=Mampreso |first5=E |last6=Maggioni |first6=F |date=2007-09-07 |title=Osmophobia in Migraine and Tension-Type Headache and Its Clinical Features in Patients With Migraine |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2982.2007.01421.x |journal=Cephalalgia |language=en |volume=27 |issue=9 |pages=1061–1068 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2982.2007.01421.x |pmid=17681021 |hdl=11577/115293 |issn=0333-1024|hdl-access=free }} 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 {{wikt-lang|grc|ὀσμή}} ({{grc-transl|ὀσμή}}), meaning "smell, odour",[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29smh%2F ὀσμή], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus and {{wikt-lang|grc|φόβος}} ({{grc-transl|φόβος}}), meaning "fear".[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dfo%2Fbos φόβος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Olfactophobia comes from the Latin {{wikt-lang|la|olfacto}}, meaning "to smell at".[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dolfacto olfacto], Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus