Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sneeze

How do I learn to sneeze softly?

riffola — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:12:56 -0800

How do I learn to sneeze softly?

Why do I have intense, momentary back pain when I sneeze?

high0nfire — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:48:55 -0800

Is intense back pain when I sneeze an indicator of a serious spinal problem? I'm 29, 100+lbs overweight, but have never had ANY kind of back problem/injury in my life. I've always been careful when doing any kind of heavy lifting and have never pinched a nerve or twisted my back when lifting or fell hard on my back, or anything. I've been sick twice this winter and I've been sneezing a lot this current illness. When I sneeze, I have this INTENSE back pain (middle and upper back) that spikes about one second after I sneeze which gradually dissipates after 5-10 seconds. After that I'm completely fine. It feels like a hundred needles jabbing into my back at once, mostly near the middle/upper spine , becoming less and less intense as it radiates out to the sides. Once again, I have no other back pain in my life apart from this. This sneeze pain has happened before in my life (I was a lot less overweight then, don't remember if I was sick or not at the time) but hasn't happened for a long time (maybe 10 years) until now. Also, I haven't gained a lot of weight recently, it's been more the result of a long-term neglect of proper diet/exercise.

I know that my belly makes my spine curve to compensate for the weight distribution, but I thought that was mostly the lower spine (which doesn't hurt at all when I sneeze). Something tells me losing weight/exercising would help (how many more reasons do i need before I get my sh*t together and keep a good diet/exercise regimen?). I could totally believe that when I sneeze, moving all my extra weight around is sending the energy right into my spine. Any constructive input/experiences/comments would be greatly appreciated.

Why can't I sneeze?

ParsonWreck — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:50:35 -0800

When I have a cold, what causes the annoying twinge in my left nostril, that makes me want to sneeze even though I never manage to sneeze? The sensation is a bit like a pinch, and a bit like a tickle. Almost like having a nose hair tugged, though a little further up inside my nose.

It makes me feel like I need to sneeze, but for the 2 worst days of the cold, I rarely DO sneeze. As I type this, having spent a day and a half on the verge of sneezing, it's easily the most profoundly annoying sensation imaginable.

I'd put it down to just another cold symptom, except it happens every time I get a cold, on days 3 and 4 (assuming a 7 day duration - I can time my colds by it,) and always only in the left nostril, which makes me think there's something distinct about what I'm feeling.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about, or how to address it?

Why do we vocalize sneezes?

George_Spiggott — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:32:05 -0800

Why do we vocalize sneezes? It seems that most people "voice" their sneezes, some in a much more pronounced way than others. Is this learned behavior (presumably not consciously so) or is there some physiological reason for it? Most animals don't seem to do it. Most animals also seem to sneeze with their mouths closed, which would seem like a sensible way to direct the force where it's going to do some good.

Why do I have a sneezing fit shortly after eating sugary and fatty foods?

santry — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:42:20 -0800

I'm an overweight, nearly-thirty-year-old man and for the past several years (at least) I find that I have a sneezing fit (5-10 intense sneezes in fairly rapid succession) shortly after eating sugary and/or fatty foods. For example I just ate a small piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and whipped cream. A couple of minutes later I had one of these sneezing fits. I seem to remember the same happening after fatty foods, but am not 100% sure.
Other than the weight thing I'm healthy and take no medications. My last physical (a year ago) showed excellent cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

The Google found me this questionnaire and the last question implies that there's some reason, but I wasn't able to find anything more concrete.

Blow your nose, blow out your pitching arm...

rileyray3000 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:10:56 -0800

Sometimes when I sneeze, my whole upper body hurts. Specifically my shoulders and, to a lesser degree, my elbows. It almost feels like I'm being punched. What gives? Granted, this doesn't happen ALL the time. But, man, when it does, it's a hard, dull pain that's like when your leg falls asleep times 10. The injurious sneezes don't seem harder than the non-painful ones.

Though that's guesswork on my part. I don't have a sneeze radar gun or anything.

This has been happening since I was in my late teens and doesn't seem like it's going away anytime soon. So should I worry or not?

Is this a syndrome? A sign of something worse? Or just the price you pay for having a nose and a flexible ligature?

How long does Gesundheit last?

fenriq — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 08:59:40 -0800

How long does saying "Bless You" or "Gesundheit" last when someone near you sneezes? I was just wondering how long saying Gesundheit or Bless You lasts after someone in your vicinity sneezes? I work in an office where the sneezes sometimes come very fast and very furiously and sometimes someone will sneeze five times in five minutes.

What's the polite thing to do?

PS Do you secretly resent it when nobody says anything after you've sneezed?

Why does dark chocolate make me sneeze?

pt68 — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:55:13 -0800

Whenever I eat dark chocolate, I sneeze. The darker and more unadulterated the chocolate, the quicker I sneeze (and the more intense it is). Why?

Why the post-sneeze sweet smell?

cortex — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 15:25:58 -0800

What's that sweet post-sneeze smell I smell? Often times after I sneeze, especially after a good nose-clearer, I get a brief smell sensation that I can best describe as being "sweet." (Perhaps a little floral? It's very difficult to put it into words.)

It doesn't last long -- between sneezing just now and endeavoring to post this, it's gone already -- and the odor/sensation is very consistent from sneeze to sneeze over a period of years.

What the heck is this? Is it some olfactory illusion from over-compensation for some anti-this-odor component in my snot? Does this happen to other people?

From the archives: abcde smells something metallic in this thread; no, I don't see sparks when it happens.

ahchoo atchim kychnut wa-hing!

dmo — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 07:33:51 -0800

How is the sound of a sneeze written and pronounced in languages other than English? I've seen a great site about the sounds animals make (woof woof / wan wan / au au, etc.), but I've never seen seen something similar and comprehensive for the sound of a sneeze. Obviously, this will require romanization of a lot of languages. But even if the language is written with the Roman alphabet, a pronunciation guide would be helpful. Here's what I have so far - corrections are welcome!

ah-choo (English)
ap chkii (Russian)
atchim (Brazilian Portuguese)
hatschi (German/Dutch)
hakushon (Japanese)
achís (Spanish - are there variations?)
aak-chheen or aak-chhoon (Hindi)
a-psik (Polish)
Han-chee (Chinese - which?)
Itush (Hebrew)
Kychnut (Czech)
Wa-hing (Indonesian)
A-tchouin (French)

How can I prevent bronchitis?

Happydaz — Fri, 22 Oct 2004 11:45:08 -0800

SickFilter:
If you caught a cold this week
and hacked and sneezed and lacked some sleep
And when you talk you simply squeak —
How do you ward off bronchitis? The question is how to improve my immune system's performance, not how to improve my rotten poetry :-)
I get sick every autumn. I'd rather not get bronchitis, as it took me out for two weeks last year. I'm in the coughing stage of the cold. How do I stop brochitis?

Do I Have Allergies?

nelleish — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 06:20:18 -0800

Do I have allergies? (more inside) First off: I'm not looking for medical advice, just comments from anyone who does have allergies and maybe recognizes my "symptoms" as such. If it does ever get worse, of course I'll go to a proper doctor, right now I'm just placating curiosity.

So here's the story: I have always tended to sneeze often, but I never really thought about it. However, over the past year or so I've had a constant overproductive nose. I haven't needed to blow it, but there's plenty of muscus and mostly not clear (but instead, other fun colors). It isn't anything truly irritating or impending on any part of my life, but it makes me wonder if I am allergic to something.

The points against it being an allergy is that it hasn't increased or decreased in response to any regular factor. My family has always kept many pets, but I don't live with them anymore. I've always been active outdoors and doubt it's pollen or anything else seasonal. It's been there winter and summer, and regardless of where I'm living (which has variously been southern suburban Ontario, coastal Maine, and rural northern Maine). The only thing I've every reliably concluded as being a trigger for a sneeze or two is ingesting strongly flavored/aromatic mints, otherwise I just sneeze more often than other people. I've used google many times to look up allergies, but I don't suffer from any of the comonly listed symptoms, no congestion or watery eyes, etc.

So am I just a snotty kid, or mildly allergic to everything? Again, I'm not suffering from it (the mint thing is actually a decent party trick), but I just wonder sometimes what causes it, and worry it might get worse, especially since the snot thing is a relatively recent development. Thanks!