Sweet scents, such as the smell of roses or almonds, could help to relieve pain but the effect only seems to work in women. In a study by scientists at the University of Quebec in Canada, women and men both said they felt better when they sniffed pleasant fragrances while foul smells put them in a bad mood. But only the women said the pain from holding their hand in very hot water lessened while smelling a sweet aroma and intensified when they sniffed vinegar or other foul smells. Women are usually more sensitive to scents than men but New Scientist magazine said that doesn't explain why sweet scents are a pain relief for women and not men, because both sexes rated the intensity of the pain the same. "Pleasant sensations of touch are known to activate an area of the brain's frontal cortex used for taste and smell. So it's possible that smells could be altering the sensory processing of touch, pain and temperature by affecting this part of the brain in women," the magazine said.

芬芳的气味——比如玫瑰或杏仁的香气——可以减轻人的痛苦，不过这似乎只对女性有效。根据加拿大魁北克大学的科学家们所做的研究，男性和女性都认为芬芳的气味会令自己心情变好，而恶臭的气味则使人心情沮丧。但是只有女性觉得把手放在烫水中的痛楚会在嗅到香气时减轻，并在闻到醋味或其他臭味时加剧。女性通常比男性对气味更敏感，但《新科学家》杂志说这并不能解释为什么香气对女性来说是镇痛剂而对男性则并非如此，因为两种性别对痛苦程度的判定是一致的。杂志说：“我们知道令人愉悦的触感会激活大脑前部皮层中负责品尝和闻味的区域，因此可能的解释是气味能通过影响女性大脑中的这一部分来改变她们对触摸、疼痛和温度的感觉。”

Remarks：怪不得女孩子那样喜欢玫瑰，但得花气芬芳，便手心刺痛又何妨！