- With Mayo Clinic neurologist
Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
Dr. Jerry Swanson is a board-certified neurologist at Mayo Clinic and is a professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He has a special interest in headache disorders and medical education.
Dr. Swanson, a Lacon, Ill., native, was appointed to the Mayo Clinic staff in 1982 and works in the Department of Neurology with about 90 other physicians. He formerly chaired the Headache Division in the Neurology Department at Mayo Clinic and works with headache subspecialists around the world. He has published and lectured widely on headache disorders. He also serves as Assistant Dean for Assessment in Mayo Medical School.
"In a manner similar to the printing press, Internet technology enables the unprecedented ability to communicate with the global community about health information," Dr. Swanson says. "There is no doubt that the knowledgeable individual contributes greatly to his or her own health care, and now we can share information much more widely."
"There is much information already available about health care on the Internet. Unfortunately, much of it is not founded on sound principles. It is exciting to be a part of the MayoClinic.com team and contribute to the creation of a reliable and timely health resource."
Dr. Swanson is the neurology editor for "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" and has reviewed articles for "Mayo Clinic Health Letter" and "Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource." He is also editor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic on Headache" book, published in 2004. In 2008 the magazine "Women's Health" named him one of America's Top Doctors for Women.
Complications (1)
- Phantosmia: What causes olfactory hallucinations?
Treatments and drugs (1)
- Neurontin side effects: Is memory loss a concern?
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Question
Phantosmia: What causes olfactory hallucinations?
What causes olfactory hallucinations (phantosmia)?
Answer
from Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
Many people are sensitive to certain smells, but in an olfactory hallucination (phantosmia), you detect smells that are not really present in your environment. It should be noted that this term needs to be differentiated from another disorder of sense of smell known as parosmia in which a smell is present in your environment but is distorted.
The smells detected in phantosmia vary from person to person, but may include foul odors such as rotting food or pleasant odors such as fresh flowers. Phantosmia may progress to olfactory delusions, a condition in which you persistently believe that the smell and its source exist, even though they do not.
Most often phantosmia is due to temporal lobe seizures, but it could also be caused by a brain injury. If you have a temporal lobe seizure, your phantosmia may be brief and you may lose consciousness or have other symptoms of epilepsy.
The combination of phantosmia and olfactory delusions is often due to a psychiatric illness, such as depression or schizophrenia. Phantosmia and olfactory delusions may also occur in people with Alzheimer's disease. Although rare, phantosmia can occur as a symptom prior to a migraine. There is also some evidence to suggest that phantosmia can arise due to a disorder of the smell receptor system rather than the central nervous system.
Because phantosmia can be an indication of a serious illness, consult your doctor if you experience such symptoms.
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