Travel & Lifestyle: Is This 1 Phantom Scent A Sign Of Stroke? Here’s What Experts Say.

There’s a long-standing idea that the phantom scent of burnt toast — that is, smelling burnt toast when it’s not really there — means you’re going to have a stroke. People often chat about the supposed symptom on Reddit, and the stroke-toast rumor was even mentioned in a song by comedian and musician Bo Burnham.

It makes sense that folks want to know all that they can about the signs of a stroke, a medical emergency in which a blood vessel supplying the brain is obstructed or ruptured. Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in the world, according to Dr. Alhamza Al-Bayati, a neurointerventional surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. It’s also the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, said Dr. Erica Jones, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

But it turns out that people shouldn’t be focused on burnt toast. The phantom smell does not mean you’re going to have a stroke — Jones said the purported symptom is “not real. It’s not actually associated with stroke.”

Dr. Linda Wendell, the chief of neurology at Mount Auburn Hospital in Massachusetts, said she had not previously heard of the rumor, but that other people in her life had. Nonetheless, there is no evidence indicating that the phantom scent is a sign of stroke, Wendell noted.

For something that isn’t real, the myth is pretty widespread. Where did it come from? Experts aren’t totally sure, but Jones has a theory.

“Phantom smells are something that are far more common in seizures, in epilepsy,” she explained. “I think because it’s associated with another neurologic condition, people may be getting seizures and stroke confused and thinking that this is a stroke symptom. But actually this would be very unusual to have this symptom be related to a stroke. … Even among seizures, it’s still a rare symptom.”

Al-Bayati noted that phantom smells are associated with another neurological condition as well: migraine.

Suffice to say, if you frequently notice phantom scents, you should talk to your doctor — but this doesn’t mean you’re about to have a stroke. Instead of focusing on burnt toast, doctors say you should know the real signs of a stroke, in addition to the lifestyle factors and conditions that put you at higher risk of one.

With phantom scents ruled out, doctors say there are distinct signs of a stroke that you should be aware of.

Jones said that stroke is not only “preventable” but also “very treatable” — as long as you receive medical attention quickly.

If you can get to a hospital within three to four hours of developing symptoms, it’ll be easier for doctors to reverse stroke symptoms, she said. And, of course, getting there even faster is ideal.

With each minute that passes, a stroke victim loses 2 million neurons in their brain, according to Al-Bayati. This cell death continues until blood flow to the brain resumes.

Al-Bayati, Jones and Wendell all said the easiest way to remember the signs of a stroke is with the mnemonic “BE FAST”:

• B for “balance issues” — is the person feeling off balance?
• E for “eyesight changes” — are they experiencing vision loss, double vision or other changes to their eyesight?
• F for “facial drooping” — is their face drooping on one side, or numb?
• A for “arm weakness” — is one arm weakened? Can the two arms be raised symmetrically?
• S for “speech difficulty” — is their speech slurred or nonsensical? Are they unable to speak?
• T for “time to get help” — seek medical attention as soon as possible.

You won’t necessarily experience all of those symptoms when having a stroke — instead, you may just have one or a few, Al-Bayati said. For example, some people only have speech problems or only have facial drooping.

According to Wendell, you should try to maintain a healthy lifestyle to prevent a stroke.

This includes sticking to a nutritious diet, and avoiding “foods that are high in fat [or] cholesterol,” as well as sugary foods, Wendell said. You should eat lean protein (like chicken breast, lentils, beans, turkey, tofu and fish), as well as fruits and vegetables, according to Jones.

Physical activity is also important. “Regular cardiovascular exercise greatly reduces your stroke risk,” Jones explained. You should try to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as brisk walking, dancing or water aerobics) each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (such as running, swimming laps or doing heavy yard work), according to the American Heart Association.

Smoking puts you at higher risk of stroke. Additionally, “if you have a medical condition like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, then you want to make sure that you’re talking to your doctor, that you’re on the appropriate medications to control these different diseases and that you are taking your medications each day,” Wendell noted.

If you don’t know your cholesterol and blood pressure levels, or haven’t been tested for some time, you should talk to your doctor about getting an assessment. This is true whether you’re 80 or 25.

“Stroke is literally a disease of all ages,” Al-Bayati said. “Pediatric population and young adults can have a stroke. Elderly population can have a stroke.”

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“A lot of [younger] people think they feel fine, so they don’t see a reason to see the doctor,” Jones said. “But high blood pressure, for instance, often doesn’t cause symptoms, and so you could be walking around with high blood pressure for years and have no idea.”

She added: “We have that happen all the time, where people come in with their stroke, and then we also have to tell them that they have high blood pressure, diabetes and all these other things. And that’s the first they’re hearing of it, and it’s probably been there for years. But they just didn’t know because they had never seen a doctor to check on it.”

It’s important to be aware of your health status, “because then there’s a lot you can do to prevent something like a stroke from happening,” Jones said.