Osmophobia

Osmophobia, also called olfactophobia, is a fear, aversion or psychological hypersensitivity to odors. It appears to be a consistent part of the migraine history of many patients, and additional criteria are needed to tell it apart from episodic tension-type headache. It generally occurs in people with chronic migraine whose attacks are triggered by odors, most often foul ones, although the hypersensitivity can extend to all smells. One study found that as many as one in four migraine sufferers had some degree of osmophobia. The condition may also appear during substance withdrawal, particularly opioid withdrawal, where it is usually associated with nausea or vomiting. The name comes from the Greek osme, meaning smell, and phobos, meaning fear, while olfactophobia comes from the Latin olfacto, meaning to smell.