Thursday, April 20, 2006

I SMELL A RAT!!!!!

I was on the train this morning and as soon as I sat down, I smelled bad breath. At first I thought it was mine so I took out a sweet (Hacks Honey Lemon) But the smell persisted. I turned slightly to my right and whooah I felt like I was being slapped by the strong smell. The guy sitting next to me was smartly dressed but he must have forgotten to brush his teeth or else he just has very bad hygiene. I spent the entire train ride turning my face to the left or looking down so that I didn't have to breathe the smell in. I doubt anybody else on the train actually smelled the foul odour. Just me and my newly found sensitive nose.

I've always had quite sensitive nosing abilities. For eg, I can smell alcohol from a distance away and I'm always the first to detect B.O on somebody but now the sensitivity of my nose has reached gargantuan proportions. If I can smell the insides of a person mouth without that person opening his mouth..that's serious!!!
Oh the perils of pregnancy!! But at least the smells do not make me nauseous. (yet)

Heightened Sense of Smell
The nose knows, especially when you’re pregnant. Here’s how to cope when your sense of smell sends you running for the hills (or the bathroom!).
What it is: During pregnancy, lots of ladies become more sensitive and reactive to the scents around them.

What causes it: As with so many pregnancy weirdnesses, when it comes to your heightened sense of smell you can blame those hormones again. In this case, it’s estrogen that can make every little scent that wafts your way feel like an all-out assault on your nostrils.

What you need to know about it: Almost every pregnant women notices a change in her sense of smell; it’s how significant that change is, and how it affects you, that makes all the difference. For instance, scientists have hypothesized that for some women, it’s this heightened sense of smell that leads to morning sickness. (One study even found that women born without a sense of smell — a condition called anosmia — don’t suffer from morning sickness when pregnant. Almost makes you want to cut off your nose to help your stomach, doesn’t it?)

What to do about it: You can’t cut off your nose, but you can try to avoid scents that drive you crazy (especially those that ramp up your morning sickness symptoms). Some strategies to try:

Cook (and eat) only those foods you can stand to smell. (Brussels sprout? Probably not.) Leave your windows open whenever possible to banish cooking or musty odors. Wash your clothes more often then usual, since fibers tend to hold onto odors.
Switch to unscented or lightly scented toiletries, cleaning products, etc.
Ask the people around you to be extra considerate: Request that friends and coworkers go easy on the fragrance and, of course, avoid people who are smoking. Try to surround yourself with those scents (if there are any) that actually make you feel better. Mint, lemon, ginger, and other herbs are more likely to soothe your nausea than they are to make it worse.

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