Parosmia

Parosmia, from the Greek < para = osmi, also known as troposmia (Gk.) or cacosmia, (Gk.) is an olfactory dysfunction that is characterized by the inability of the brain to properly identify an odor’s “natural” smell. What happens instead, is that the natural odor is transcribed into what is most often described as an unpleasant aroma, typically a “‘burned,’ ‘rotting,’ ‘fecal,’ or ‘chemical’ smell.” There are instances, however, of pleasant odors. This is more specifically called euosmia (Gk.).