Bad smell coming from nose. Why do I have a rotten, gassy smell?
I caught covid during december 2023 and i lost all tasttr and smell for like two weeks and then it magically came back , i started getting alot of mucus and started tonsil stones and it gave me sort of bad breath but nothing crazy and it wasnt room filling or anything only one occasion someone sitting next to me asked who farted but i didnt smell anything? I took different antibiotics like amoxicillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin on like three different occasions. None of them helped . Later on i developed like a thick white coating on my tounge , also it seemed even though i was removing tonsil stones everyday the smell stayed the same. During 2024 i got a chest infection and had to be on another set on antibiotics which caused me having to spit out mucus( tmi) literally every 2 seconds and i couldn’t go to school, i also got an ear infection and had to also get antibiotics for it . Early 2025 i still had the white tounge and slight bad breath nothing crazy but i also developed really bad constipation, fatigue and brain fog and i literally had no energy to do anything but i just went on with life anyways.
Everything was sort of fine until around September 11 after my 18th birthday , a few days before i tried using baking soda and toothpaste to scrub off the white tounge and also tried hydrogen peroxide rinses like maybe once or twice . After that i didnt really have bad breath until a few days later in class i noticed people covering their noses , saying it smells ect and i couldnt smell anything at that time either. Told my parents , went to the gp obviously nobody believed me about the smell even though the gp sat there with his hand covering his nose and he told me it might be acid reflux and prescribed me omeprazole. That helped with the bad taste in my mouth but the smell is still there , it smells like vinegar and i can only really smell it outside , ppl literally cough , take off their glasses because their eyes water and have to drink water ect. Its so embarrassing especially having to go to school everyday and my parents dont believe theirs a smell at all, it only comes from my nose because when i dont exhale through my nose i get no reactions at all , i also have pnd , enlarged turbinates , nasal polyps , tonsil stones . Ive tried doxycycline and it worked for like a month , all symptoms cleared and no reactions but then the smell came back again . Ive also tried biofilm disruptors, oregano oil and betain hcl they also helped for like a month but the smell came back again , nasal sprays steroid and saline , neti pot , humidifiers , digestive enzymes. Its literally like a curse because my family cant smell it and they think im crazy.
Also , yesterday i took activated charcoal and i can literally smell what others are smelling now its like a rotten gassy smell . I wish it was just like an anxiety thing and that im imagining peoples reactions but even when im relaxed the smells still there. I have no body odour either , sometimes after ive eaten my hands would smell like onions or garbage? Idk if thats related to the issue.
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.
Connect

You have PHANTOSMIA. Olfactory hallucinations. You perceive odors that actually are not present. They are phantom smells which be foul or present, continual or intermittent. How are you gums? Please consult a doctor. I am not one. Or better, a neurologist. Luck!!
@hopeseeker22
Lol i wish i was just imagining these odor but ive literally heard someone say i stunk lol
I think that what you are describing is very real, you’ve seen the reactions from people around you that they can smell it too. I have a very keen sense of smell and I often wish that my eyesight was better rather than my sense of smell because it really stinks out there, bad breath is the biggest problem I have dealt with, not everyone will notice it because they don’t have a good sense of smell. It’s hard to say what is causing your problem but if I had to guess I would say it’s digestive and perhaps even a chronic bacteria that hasn’t been diagnosed, I know that you have done many things to get help with it but so far you you haven’t had the right treatment yet because no one is looking any deeper into it, sometimes you just have to keep looking until the right tests are done, I admire your perseverance and please don’t give up on this because I feel certain that they will get it right sooner than later, best wishes for you and getting better.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsIt sounds very distressing. I’d try to take comfort in knowing you can eventually figure it out. It might be phantom smells or maybe not. You can determine this by obtaining medical examination to rule out other causes and obtain objective opinions about the actual existence of the smell. I would consider that family and friends’ opinions may be skewed and unreliable. Your doctors can do blood test, GI tests, tests by ENT, dentist, etc. to rule out the source. Then explore other things. Phantom smells can be treated too, if that’s what it is. I’d keep an open mind until all the information is obtained. In the meantime consult with a therapist.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
5 Reactions@celia16
Thanks for ur advice , i have an ent appointment in two weeks so hopefully ill get some answers then
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@frouke
thank u so much i wont give up yet lol
You go girl, don’t give up the fight, 👍🤞
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction