How to get smell back after sinus infection?

Sinusitis can swell the nasal passages and thicken mucus, reducing the airflow that carries odours to the smell receptors. Inflammation may continue after pain or discharge begins to improve, so smell recovery can lag behind other symptoms. A Common Cold or Allergic Rhinitis can also cause the congestion around a sinus episode. Facial Pain and Pressure, blocked nose, cough, earache and fever are useful symptoms to report because they help a clinician judge whether inflammation is still active.

Follow the treatment plan you were given and do not restart leftover antibiotics. Rest, drink fluids and avoid smoke or harsh fumes. Saline spray or a nasal rinse may loosen mucus; a rinse must use sterile, distilled or boiled and cooled water, with a clean device. Smell training can be started with gentle familiar scents when it feels comfortable. Ask a pharmacist or clinician before using a medicated nasal spray, particularly if symptoms are prolonged, because treatment depends on the cause and your medical history.

Arrange review if facial pain, fever, thick discharge or blockage is worsening, if symptoms return after improving, or if smell remains absent after the sinus illness has settled. Seek urgent help for swelling around an eye, vision changes, severe headache with neck stiffness, confusion, breathing difficulty or marked weakness. Protect yourself by checking smoke alarms and food freshness while smell is reduced.

Has the sinus inflammation cleared, or is another cause keeping my smell reduced? Is a nasal examination needed? Which spray or rinse is safe with my medicines and health conditions?