It's on the tip of my

March 23, 2012 1:07 PM

Wrigley's gum, and only Wrigley's gum, makes my nose itch. Why?

I first noticed this about five years ago, but it's been consistent since and as I happen to be chewing some Speermint today and it happened again I thought I'dhand the mystery over to AskMe.

Additional facts:

I first noticed this with Juicyfruit, classic stick form. All that happens is, after I've been chewing the gum for a while (I tend to blow through several pieces in an afternoon on the rare occasions I chew gum) the tip of my nose begins to itch, in a tingly sort of way. The itch gradually fades away after I spit the gum out.

This hasn't happened with other brands of gum. Before today, I can't say i've noticed it with other flavours, but then again, I only buy gum once in a blue moon to begin with, and rarely wrigley's.

It didn't used to happen when I was a kid, either. I notice that Juicyfruit is now chartreuse; when I was a kid it was white, I believe.

I've never tried the new chicklet-in-foil version of juicy fruit.

So, any ideas? Am I nuts? Allergic? If so, to what? Anybody else experience this phenomenon?

posted by Diablevert to grab bag (3 answers total)

I've noticed that really minty gum consistently makes me sneeze when I first chew it. Especially Dentyne Ice gum. Maybe it irritates your nose a little?
posted by Aquifer at 1:26 PM on March 23, 2012

Aquifer, this happens when the OP chews Juicyfruit, which isn't minty at all.

I'm wondering if the culprit may be soy lecithin, which is a relatively common allergen and therefore the most likely gum ingredient to cause an itchy nose... but I don't know why it would be only Wrigley's that sets you off.
posted by Specklet at 1:36 PM on March 23, 2012

Itchy nose is generally an allergy indicator.
posted by what's her name at 8:33 AM on March 24, 2012