Therapeutic target
Improvement of symptomatology
Therapy recommendations
The following agents are indicated for sinunasal-related (sinus-related) olfactory disorders:
- Mucosal care with nasal oil, ointment, saline spray.
- Topical (“topical”) glucocorticoid nasal spray (into the olfactory cleft), unspecified
- See also under “Other therapy.”
The following agents are indicated for postviral (after a viral infection), posttraumatic (after injury), and idiopathic olfactory disorders (with no known cause):
- Daily olfactory training with eucalyptus, clove, rose and lemon scents (morning and evening, for about 1 year).
Other tips
- Glucorticoid therapy was most successful in patients who developed anemia or hyposmia following an upper respiratory tract infection. In this group, the cure rate was 59.6%. In olfactory disorders following head trauma, therapy helped in only 12.5% of cases. It was also shown that an early start, ie, with only a few weeks of existing olfactory dysfunction, significantly better cure rates could achieve.
- There is a small body of evidence that topical glucocorticoids improve olfaction (especially in seasonal allergic rhinitis)
