Does welding affect smell/taste?

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I noticed last night after spending the afternoon doing some welding and grinding that I couldn't really taste my dinner very well. Back to normal now. Anybody else have this happen? Maybe it was my imagination. Pity, because it was a great meal I made - strong flavours, too.Scott
Reply:For me...absolutely, it does.  After a long period of welding, everything smells different.  It's not like you lose you sense of smell, but like it's altered somehow.  It's funny, I guess I never thought about it until you mentioned it.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I am always really hungry after working and welding, so I just inhale my food. As long as it's not burnt or extremely hot, I think my food tastes the same.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:not to me..i have the worlds most sensitive nosei can smell anything way before anyone else does..and i absolutly HATE it ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Apparently some of us have more smell receptors than others.  Some are designated super tasters.  I am at the other end of the scale.  I don't tase much so along with that is the advantage of not losing anything I never had.
Reply:Scott, what were you working with?  I've heard that a mild case of metal fume fever might have those symptoms.  I'm not sure because I've never had it; I always stayed upwind and/or wore a respirator when working with questionable material (like galvanized.)
Reply:It was galvanised steel, but I ground off the gal from the weld site. And I was working inside because it was a cold day - normally I'm outside.
Reply:Hey Scott!I believe MAC702's "hunch" is correct with regards to your exposure to some poisonus fumes - no matter how slight, mainly because of the inadequate ventilation from being inside I hope ya feel better soon because, I know how that can be so disorienting when exposed to the fumes as it happened to me when I first started out.Respectfully,SSBN727"Run Silent...  Run Deep!!!
Reply:Scott, I agree with Mac and SSBN.Long time ago had the same thing happen to me with the galv.steel.Depending on the humidity level where I work sometimes I notice a slight change in smell/taste but for me it`s very seldom.
Reply:I'll have to grind more of the gal off next time. Currently I'm coughing, sneezing and wheezing, but I put that down to germs brought home from school by a 3 year old and a 5 year old.
Reply:Here's a good link I found that goes into detail about galvanized steel.http://www.sperkoengineering.com/htm...Galvanized.pdfDewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:So the symptons of metal fume fever are:'...fever, chills, thirst, headache and nausea.'I sure ticked all those boxes. Maybe I did poison myself on the weekend after all!I almost feel like I've earnt my 'WeldingWeb Tradesman' tag!
Reply:Hmmm.  Now I have to say that even when I weld un-coated steel with mig or tig over a few hours, my sense of smell is affected.  In fact, I think the effect is strongest when I use inert gas (double hmmm).  I had wondered if there was something wrong with my nose, because even after I took a good long shower, everything still had "that smell," sorta like ozone, but everywhere and on everything.  However, over time (hours maybe) my nose returned to normal.  It's not a foul odor.  Maybe I am alone in this or maybe there is something I am not thinking of.  I know I don't have a super strong nose...I grew up on a cattle farm and near chicken houses and never thought anything of the smell.Scott,It does sound like you inhaled a bit of zinc based on your symptoms mentioned above...be careful with that.Dang...now I feel like a hypochondriac...someone mentions their nose problem and now I got it and they don't......scott, this is probably a record for long-distance disease transmission.  I hope bird flew doesn't infect my hard drive.  Cough...cough...sniff...sniffSmithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I knew if kept reading enough posts one day one of you guys would use the word 'dang' - thanks Smithboy.Now I have a picture of you in my head and it's not dissimilar to Ned Flanders.Scott
Reply:well next time your working with galvanised, have about a litre of milk before and wear your respirator   best way to avoid the zinc chills