Osmophobia

Osmophobia is an abnormal aversion or sensitivity to odors, often occurring during migraine attacks. Odors that are tolerable to others may feel unpleasant or provoke symptoms.

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Migraine: A neurological disorder marked by recurrent attacks of headache and associated sensory or other symptoms. Osmophobia commonly accompanies migraine attacks and may intensify their sensory burden.
Olfactory bulb: A brain structure that receives signals from olfactory sensory neurons and begins processing smell information. It is an early neural relay for odor signals that may become aversive during migraine.
Migraine diagnosis: The clinical process of identifying migraine from symptom history, examination, and diagnostic criteria. Asking about odor aversion can help characterize symptoms accompanying suspected migraine.
Migraine triggers: Factors reported to precede or worsen migraine attacks, including environmental and behavioral exposures. Odors may be reported as triggers, but sensitivity can also emerge after an attack begins.
Phonophobia: Abnormal sensitivity or aversion to sound, often associated with migraine. It is another sensory sensitivity that can accompany the same migraine attacks.
Trigeminal nerve: The cranial nerve carrying facial sensation and much of the sensory input from the head. Some pungent odors stimulate trigeminal pathways as well as smell receptors.
International Classification of Headache Disorders: A classification system published by the International Headache Society for headache disorders. It provides standardized criteria for migraine, although osmophobia is not a defining criterion.
Osmophobia in migraine: Odor aversion or sensitivity occurring in people with migraine, often during attacks. Studies examine how often this symptom occurs and which migraine features accompany it.
Photophobia: Abnormal sensitivity to light, often associated with migraine and eye disorders. Like odor sensitivity, light sensitivity is a frequent sensory symptom of migraine.
Cortical spreading depression: A slowly propagating wave of altered neural activity across the cerebral cortex, associated with migraine aura. It illustrates migraine-related neural changes, though it does not by itself explain osmophobia.