I have bilateral ES with main symptoms being nasopharyngeal pain, dizziness, and fatigue. Over time I have realized that my symptoms are triggered or made much worse when my wife sprays hairspray or perfume while I’m in our bathroom.
I’d like to understand what might be going on here. I believe the olfactory nerve does not run adjacent to the SP. But could a chemical odor trigger the vagus nerve?
Look into MCAS which can cause body-wide inflammation and may be triggered by variety of environmental factors and food.
Sorry to hear that you are so affected by the symptoms off ES. Hang in there brother !
Have you had surgery or what are your ways off treatment ?
Regarding your question about triggerd symptoms off odor,fumes and irritation off vagus and olfactory nerve;
This is an outstanding question!
I do see that this can come into play, because i experience the same. When i have my worst days, i can’t stand the smell off coffee, perfume or other cosmetics and my symptoms tends to flare up, specially headaches or migraine.
I found some articles, that is based on migraines. But what the article discuss can be put in the same category for ES. i’ll comment further down on this what i think and in my experience.
As my father have suffered from migraine all his life, he gets triggerd alot by specific odors. His cranial nerves gets badly irritated from this, sound and light does also accure to be making his migraine worse. He has stated that alot off times, after working with angle grinders he would get heavy migraines.
In my own experience with ES regarding odors and fumes, for many years i have been working as a spraypainter and sandblaster, wich means i had to deal with fumes and solvents. Even though i protected myself, some days my cranial nerves would be triggered and irritated after i went home from work.
Often i got home with sore throat, headaches/migraines,neck pain, the feeling off beeing extremely thirsty. That could offcorse be the outcome or symptoms off being exposed to such solvents, It could be that I am one of those who react more often or that it takes very little to be affected, but i don’t think so because i would have had tissue reaction at the same time, wich i did not. The solvents and fumes was mainly organic, so that is some dangerouse stuff.
And ES symptoms tended to flare up, now that i don’t work with this anymore i can see that solvents and fumes clearly had a play in my symptoms.
https://www.caringmedical.com/prolotherapy-news/cervicocranial-neuralgias/
This link discuss Cranial Neuralgias, where hyperosmia is mentioned wich is high sensitivity to odors and smell.
With classic Eagle Syndrome the fifth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth cranial nerves is affected and irritated, my conclution is that since there are so many cranial nerves affected we could defintly be more sensitve for odors and fumes.