The smell and taste of blood

Alright, here’s the situation. For about six months now, I’ve been dealing with these recurring headaches. They’re unpredictable—sometimes they linger for a few days, then vanish for a bit, only to come back as this nagging pressure on the back right side of my head. Back in the summer, I took a hit to the head that wasn't even that hard, but it messed up my cervical spine, and my carotid Doppler results came back looking pretty bad too. My field of vision took a hit as well, so I had to get glasses, but the headaches still pop up at least twice a week. Lately, though, things have taken a weird turn. Over the last month and a half, I’ve been constantly smelling blood in my nasal passages, and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve actually started tasting blood in the back of my throat. My doctor ordered an MRI, which honestly terrifies me because my claustrophobia is no joke, but this smell and taste have me genuinely worried. To be clear, I’ve never had a nosebleed in my life, though I have dealt with frequent bouts of strep and throat infections over the last three years. Is there any actual connection between all these symptoms? What could this smell and taste even signify? If anyone has any insight, I’d really appreciate it.

stormyjackal46 said:Alright, here’s the situation. For about six months now, I’ve been dealing with these recurring headaches. They’re unpredictable—sometimes they linger for a few days, then vanish for a bit, only to come back as this nagging pressure on the back right side of my head. Back in the summer, I took a hit to the head that wasn't even that hard, but it messed up my cervical spine, and my carotid Doppler results came back looking pretty bad too. My field of vision took a hit as well, so I had to get glasses, but the headaches still pop up at least twice a week. Lately, though, things have taken a weird turn. Over the last month and a half, I’ve been constantly smelling blood in my nasal passages, and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve actually started tasting blood in the back of my throat. My doctor ordered an MRI, which honestly terrifies me because my claustrophobia is no joke, but this smell and taste have me genuinely worried. To be clear, I’ve never had a nosebleed in my life, though I have dealt with frequent bouts of strep and throat infections over the last three years. Is there any actual connection between all these symptoms? What could this smell and taste even signify? If anyone has any insight, I’d really appreciate it.

Have you tried coughing up or spitting out some mucus right when you notice that taste?

It might not even be actual blood...

In any case, I wouldn't mess around with this. I’d definitely head to the doctor and see if they’ll send you to an ENT to figure out what's going on...

Back when I was seven months along, I dealt with a right maxillary sinus infection. The headaches were absolutely unbearable. Now, I get hit with the same thing every couple of days, though the intensity is much lower. Back when those pains were at their peak, I used to get this distinct taste and smell of blood, even though there wasn't actually any blood in my saliva.

stormyjackal46 said:Alright, here’s the situation. For about six months now, I’ve been dealing with these recurring headaches. They’re unpredictable—sometimes they linger for a few days, then vanish for a bit, only to come back as this nagging pressure on the back right side of my head. Back in the summer, I took a hit to the head that wasn't even that hard, but it messed up my cervical spine, and my carotid Doppler results came back looking pretty bad too. My field of vision took a hit as well, so I had to get glasses, but the headaches still pop up at least twice a week. Lately, though, things have taken a weird turn. Over the last month and a half, I’ve been constantly smelling blood in my nasal passages, and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve actually started tasting blood in the back of my throat. My doctor ordered an MRI, which honestly terrifies me because my claustrophobia is no joke, but this smell and taste have me genuinely worried. To be clear, I’ve never had a nosebleed in my life, though I have dealt with frequent bouts of strep and throat infections over the last three years. Is there any actual connection between all these symptoms? What could this smell and taste even signify? If anyone has any insight, I’d really appreciate it.

don't sweat it... the scan doesn't hurt... you just gotta stay chill
but if you panic, it's gonna be rough because those machines feel tiny once you're inside... and how long it takes depends on the machine... I did mine over the summer when it was sweltering... so they had to keep the AC cranking...
ended up being stuck in there for an hour... as soon as I got out... I bolted from the hospital... 🙂

I caught a glimpse of what the device actually looks like, and honestly, I’m starting to panic a little... As for the blood thing, there isn't any in my saliva, but there's this taste and smell—it might not be blood, but it definitely feels like it...

It could definitely be a sinus issue. I deal with something almost identical due to my sinuses, where that weird taste and smell actually come from buildup in the cavities.

stormyjackal46 said:I caught a glimpse of what the device actually looks like, and honestly, I’m starting to panic a little... As for the blood thing, there isn't any in my saliva, but there's this taste and smell—it might not be blood, but it definitely feels like it...

About that "machine"—seriously, don't let it get to you. Okay, maybe it's easy for me to say since claustrophobia isn't really my thing.

But look, you can always talk to the technicians before things start. For instance, I actually have some issues with circulation in my neck area. So, I made an arrangement with the crew beforehand: if I started feeling dizzy or weird, I’d just give them the word and they’d pull me out immediately. And they totally did! (I actually had two scans back-to-back. The first one was smooth sailing, but during the second one, that neck issue started acting up). Basically, they aren't going to just shove you in there and lock the door for 45 minutes regardless of how you feel.

And get this—between my two scans, there was this tiny baby who needed a quick bit of anesthesia so they could run the scan. But the anesthesia started wearing off a little early. They didn't even have to fully wake the little one up; the staff noticed right away and pulled them out of the scanner immediately.

The main thing to prepare for is the noise. It gets pretty loud in there, lots of banging and thumping and occasional shaking, but that’s just the machine doing its job. No need to panic.

Don't worry, you're going to be just fine.