Harvard Health Content API

Smell disorders are often classified as one of the following:
•    anosmia: complete loss of the ability to detect odors
•    hyposmia: decreased sense of smell with some ability to detect odors
•    dysosmia: distorted sense of smell.
Hyposmia commonly happens as we age. Other causes of loss of smell or distorted smell include:
•    COVID-19 or a cold or sinus infection
•    hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
•    nasal polyps
•    a medication, such as the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin (Lipitor), the blood pressure drug amlodipine or the antibiotic erythromycin
•    a side effect of general anesthesia.

The best remedy for headaches is the one that works best for you. It could be just lying down in dark, quiet room. For people with migraine, taking preventive medicine daily can be very effective. If you do use medication, take it as soon as your feel the headache about to come on. An inexpensive over-the-counter product that contains aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine works well for many people.

Five symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome include:
1.    A substantial reduction or impairment in the ability to engage in pre-illness levels of occupational, educational, social or personal activities for longer than 6 months
2.    Post-exertional malaise (PEM), which is a worsening of symptoms following physical, mental, or emotional exertion that would not have caused a problem before the illness.
3.    Unrefreshing sleep that leaves not feeling better or perhaps even feeling worse after a full night’s sleep and no other reason for poor sleep quality.
4.    Cognitive impairment, such as problems with thinking, memory, attention, organization skills, and information processing. 
5.    Orthostatic intolerance, which is a worsening of symptoms upon assuming and maintaining upright posture. 

Bradykinesia, a slowness or “poverty” of movement, reduces the pace of everyday activities, such as walking and eating. Movements that were once second nature become ponderous and deliberate — a process one person described as “going from automatic to manual.” Eventually, the slowness erases body language used to express moods and thoughts, such as waving a hand to emphasize a point or raising a skeptical eyebrow. Bradykinesia can be the most disabling aspects of Parkinson’s disease. Exercise and medications can help counteract many of bradykinesia’s effects.  

While the best treatments depend on the cause, most new-onset back pain improves on its own regardless of treatment.
When a serious or dangerous cause is suspected (such as when back pain is unrelenting and debilitating, follows major trauma or is accompanied by fever or weight loss), it’s important to seek medical attention promptly.
Reasonable initial treatments of non-urgent, recent-onset back pain include a number of non-medication approaches, including:
•    heat
•    massage
•    acupuncture
•    spinal manipulation
•    gentle exercise including stretching
•    physical therapy may be appropriate for those who need or prefer a supervised exercise program
•    remaining physically active (as much as symptoms allow)
If symptoms don’t improve, a short course of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen may help. A muscle relaxant can be considered if other treatments aren’t effective.
When back pain persists despite treatment and the passage of time, further evaluation is warranted to rule out serious causes of symptoms and to determine a specific cause that might warrant a particular treatment.