I(28f) lost my sense of smell when I was 14 after breaking my nose. I had it set, but my smell vanished until I recently got pregnant at about five weeks along. I’ve been with my husband for four years and have been sexually active since 16 and it never crossed my mind that sex has a smell and it immediately makes me sick. We’ve tried after both of us have showered, in the shower, and even condoms to try and prevent the smell, but I’m just so sensitive to it after not being able to smell anything for the last 14 years. It’s not just being intimate, I can only eat very mild foods because of the smell. We haven’t had sex in almost a month and it’s been frustrating for both of us.
39 comments
hmmm …. ?
I would venture to guess you have some cloth masks laying around from the covid-era? Wash them; and maybe put a few drops of some mild essential oils (e.g. lavender?) you like on them and have sex with the mask on?
Also, if you are currently (recently) pregnant, this is probably just a different manifestation of morning sickness, along with your previous sensitivity to smells.
Do you think scented candles, room sprays and other nice smelling scents would help at all. They should eliminate and replace an odour in the room after sex.
Scented candles in the room!
Do you like mint? If you put some mint oil under your nose (after patch testing it on your skin to check for a rash) you won’t be able to smell anything else
What does your husband think about the smell? Is it normal smell to him or could it potentially be something unusual? Various bacterial and fungal infections can bring up rather unpleasant smells during sex.
I’m sorry to laugh but based on my wife’s smell sensitivity in the first trimester it’s hysterical to me that you’re smelling for the first time in a decade with a pregnant nose. My first advice would be to wait 2 months and see how you feel about the smell then, you’ll probably still dislike it but it should be less prominent and then wait until after you deliver before doing anything rash. My second piece of advice would be to get checked for BV, your husband may not know or may not have a great sense of smell himself, because the smell of sex is generally not that intense or off putting.
Do you think it’s possible you have a heightened sense of smell due to pregnancy? My sense of smell caused morning sickness, nausea, and worse! I hope it goes away in the third trimester so you can function, but if not, keep reassuring your guy that it isn’t personal.
I wonder if there something a doctor could give you to suppress some smell then wean you back to full smell. That abruptness of no smell to smelling everything must be jarring.
I think you will eventually get over this. So on that note, I say congratulations for now on the return. Just have patience and communicate with hubby.
I couldn’t stand the smell of eggs in the first trimester both times I was pregnant. This could go away soon!
I suspect this will go away after pregnancy. My GF suddenly hated all kinds of smells when she was pregnant. Like violently hated them. Smalls that we’re otherwise pleasant. It went away. Thankfully for me, the smell of sex wasn’t one of them.
Pregnancy will do that to ya😩😩
This is so interesting. It sucks though but interesting.
Try fucking something clean 🤣
My nose got crazy sensitive after my wife got pregnant too. I would find myself throwing groceries out of the fridge at like 2am because the smell was keeping me up. I figured it was some sort of biological response to finding food that was safe for the baby to eat. It may get better after the baby is born or for me she was about 18 mos when it subsided.
Coffee is a natural odour absorber, you might have luck with leaving beans out in the bedroom and you can grind them for added effectiveness.
I think the fact you haven’t smelled anything in years is what makes everything have a bad smell because you are not used to it.
I agree with another comment, give it a while. It sucks but once you are nose blind to something you hardly ever notice it again.
Can you block your nose somehow temporarily and just breathe through your nose for that window? It would be uncomfortable but perhaps worth at least trying!
My wife is pregnant and her sense of smell is out of control. I can’t even wear deodorant around her. Based on the last time she was pregnant it went away after birth. Hoping it resets for both you and my wife this time around.
Try plugging your nose. You can buy pretty well designed nose plugs online that should block most scents. You might not like how you sound but it would at least resolve the smell issue.
It’s the extra progesterone you make when you’re pregnant. It makes everything smell. Try working in a middle school full of boys who tell you that they spray on “cologne” after p.e. 😩. Anyway, it gets better the further along you get. It also completely goes away after your have the baby, once your hormones adjust.
Get nose clips/plugs, you should not be able to smell anything (or almost anything) with them. I don’t think any kind of smell distraction methods are going to work for you right now, but maybe in the future.
Something similar happend to me when I was in high school lost my sense of smell dont know if it was due to the chemicals in the pool or what. I have seldom been sick I have never been in the hospital for anything except one time. So when covid I didn’t get sick didn’t think anything about the smell. Can’t miss what you’ve never had. Well I end up in the hospital really sick from it. After a few months of the hospital I get out. Sense of smell is super strong now everything smells bad or dead. It’s been rough
Maybe try to have a towel/blanket around your husband’s waist? If he’s wearing a skirt and blocking out the crotch it might help.
What about doggy? You can have a pillow with whatever smell you want, bury your face in it.
Wear a mask, Ala covid style?
I’ve only had a short period of pregnancy nose (aborted a while after) but I hope it’s temporary for you, as others are saying.
Honestly, if this is something that’s really bothering you. The best thing might be to see a doctor to discuss options.
Talk to your doctor, they may be able to help!
Ever hear of Lumè? It’s a all over body deodorant. Comes in lotion form. You can use it on your privates. Not internally, obviously, but it kills all the bacteria on your skin that would cause smell. Might work for you and your partner. Good luck.
Condoms could prevent the juices from mixing which is where (As I recall) the most distinctive odor comes from. But condom sex also has a scent (or it did).
Definitely pregnant
Put a cotton ball In one nostril
Oh mama this surely is a dream. Get it, because youre a mama and can now smell sex and candy from 2 blocks away.
Considering how unique your situation is, advice may prove difficult. BUT:
I suggest you start by doing two things. One, buy a dehumidifier and a humidifier (if you’re able to). I’ve heard that this can do wonders for clean, fresh air in the home. Two, go somewhere with a clean smell. Out on the outskirts of town where there are a lot of trees, maybe? Get accustomed to the air in that area.
After you’re used to it, start smelling different things. Work your way up in potency at your own pace. Take breaks to avoid overstimulating yourself or causing a headache. Do unpleasant smells as well, since babies and children rarely smell pleasant.
I also suggest smelling your husband at random times. Smell his clothes, smell him after he showers, or after a day of hard work. Get used to how he smells, both good and bad. Smell yourself, as well. If you’re ever aroused, smell your fingers from a distance (as awkward as it may be to do, it should help you get used to it).
Eventually, you should either get used to the sensitivity or it should die down. Good luck!
It will go away. When I was pregnant I could smell the food people in their houses were cooking while I walked down the street and it made me want to puke!
Try lighting very smelly candles that actually overpower the room with a scent your comfortable with, apply smelly lotion all over your body!! This should work!! Good luck!!
Open a window and let the stank out!
Have you tried putting a fan at one end of the bed and playing it over your face?
could you just stick some tissue or silicone or whatever up your nose? or get one of those nose plugs the synchronised swimmers wear to keep water out of their noses while they’re upside down?
smell is a biological factor for women determining their partners. if he smells nice (after a shower and a night of sleeping, no cologne) you’re attracted to his pheromones, which in turn means he has an immune system compatible with yours and you guys will produce strong offspring.
Hopefully the smell of him specifically doesn’t throw you off because it might mean your body is rejecting him. The smell of sex for me is mostly sweat coming from my partner and I find it pretty hot.
Your sense of smell will go back down after your not pregnant anymore
Your body is literally just in overdrive anyway. Pregnant nose is misery. Your mind and nose find everything disgusting