I Smell Bread….With A Hint Of Disinfectant

There’s a scene in the old TV show M*A*S*H, which was recently referred to on the now-defunct Veronica Mars as well. Anyway, in one episode of M*A*S*H, Major Winchester becomes depressed and struggles with his thoughts on death. He is working at a battalion aid station where the wounded are first taken from the lines of battle when the surgeon is called over to a man who is dying. Obviously in pain, the soldier cries out, ‘I can’t see anything. Hold my hand.’ The Major grabs his and hand and the soldier whispers, ‘I’m dying.’ The Major, still groping for answers to his questions about death, asks, ‘Can you see anything? Can you feet anything? I have to know.” All the dying soldier manages to gasp is “I smell bread.” On Veronica Mars, a similar scene is played out when Deputy Lamb is shot and killed.

Well, it’s quite possible that if I die today, I won’t smell bread. But I will taste perfume mixed with disinfectant. And that’s gonna suck.

Last night when I was cleaning my side of the bathroom, I was dusting my perfume bottles while cleaning the counter. And somehow – I have NO IDEA HOW – the taste of perfume/disinfectant has lodged itself on my tastebuds. And it won’t go away. No amount of teethbrushing, mouthwash, food, drink, or non-swallowing will rid me of this problem. I can’t enjoy food because 30 seconds after taking a bite or drink of ANYthing, that nasty chemical taste is back in my mouth.

One of my co-workers thinks that it’s actually a smell lodged in my nose, but it’s affecting my ability to taste. I disagree. The taste is LITERALLY on the tip of my tongue all day. Every minute. Every second. She recommends I drink water with baking soda tonight when I get home.

And listen, at this point, I’m considering it. It HAS to taste better than what I’m tasting right now.

05 comments on “I Smell Bread….With A Hint Of Disinfectant

  • jen , Direct link to comment

    Try blowing your nose. It could be that you inhaled enough dust that it is affecting your sense of taste. Your co-worker is not off base on the idea that it could be centered in your nose.

  • Jaynee , Direct link to comment

    My nose is perfectly clear – nothing to blow. However, I did blow my nose this morning when I got up. Nothing changed.

  • Ace , Direct link to comment

    Well.. it seems as though Jen summed it up for me as I was going to say “blow your nose”. The smell was caught in your nose. Which is why if you don’t like the taste of something, they tell you to hold your nose. The sense of taste is all about the sense of smell. The co-exhist. Which is why I hold my breath in the men’s bathroom. Just sayin

  • lonnie , Direct link to comment

    I taste perfumes all the time and its an awful feeling on my lips and tongue. I also taste perfumed house aerols (those ones used to freshen the house), but it eventually it goes away. I hope yours does.

  • Jaynee , Direct link to comment

    Lonnie – fortunately that taste went away about a week after I posted about the problem. It hasn’t returned.

Comments are closed.