OCD and phantom odors

Hi all, I was not sure if I should or should not post this in the OCD forum as I am not personally suffering from OCD. However I believe my sister may have it. I posted already about my fractured relationship with heron this forum once before.

However I wanted to know if these symptoms sound familiar to any sufferers or partners of sufferers with OCD. My sister has a fixation on the house smelling badly. The only thing is that the house quite simply does not smell. I live with her and my father and neither he or I notice any odor whatsoever. My sister constantly complains of phantom odors and actually boils Mr. Clean on the stove to "freshen" the house. She also sprays Lysol and burns scented candles...all at the same time. It is really irritating and invasive and makes it hard to breathe in the house. How should my Dad or I confront this behavior and is this potentially indicative of OCD?

Yes it could be a symptom of OCD. There is a website: OCFoundation.org where you can get more information. Is your sister in treatment? If so, therapy other than just medications?

I have also heard that a zinc deficiency can cause a person to smell odours that aren't there. I know that when I'm low on zinc I honestly believe I have really bad body odour. Take zinc for a while & it's gone.

I have minor OCD and bad environmental allergies. I am super sensitive to smell. If there is any mold, I can smell it. Could the house have mold?

But, I can also 'smell' things in my mind. There's a commercial on TV right now about dog smell. When I watch it, I can actually smell dog (in my mind).

Also, people have individual scents. Sometimes, I just don''t like the smell of the people. She could be reacting to that, which, of course, you can't do anything about.

I'd gang up on her and tell her it's unacceptable to boil Mr. Clean. She should clean and open the windows, inspect for mold or leaks, and then knock it off.