How to Stop a Sneeze

Sneezing is a natural body mechanism. In many cultures it is frowned upon as a social gaffe, especially if one doesn't have a tissue handy. Nevertheless, many people will want to stop a sneeze for various reasons, including the world record holder, who, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, had a sneezing fit for 977 days, and produced more than a million sneezes.

Steps

1. 1
   Understand why you sneeze. It isn't just a useless quirk that your body takes part in just to inconvenience you. In most cases a sneeze is the body's way of getting rid of stuff in your nose that can cause irritation. In other cases a sneeze is associated with a cold, evacuating about 40,000 infectious and microscopic droplets that would otherwise do you harm. Also, many sneezes are psychosomatic reactions to disquieting emotions or thoughts. The only physically bad thing about sneezing is the spread of disease, which can be prevented by using a tissue or, if necessary, sneezing into the inside of your elbow.
2. 2
   Know when not to stop a sneeze. A sneeze, known technically as a sternutation, is a major deal for the body. The typical sneeze removes air from your body at speeds up to 100 MPH ^[1], tremendous velocities that can cause serious injury if incorrectly stifled. That's why you should never try to stop a sneeze that is in progress. For example, do not hold your nose or block your mouth while sneezing. Doing so can cause serious injury. The force and velocity of the average sneeze, if prevented from ejection from the body, can eventually cause hearing loss and damage the blood vessels in your head, especially if you make a habit of stopping a sneeze when it's already begun.
3. 3
   Apply one of the following techniques to stop a sneeze, when appropriate. These techniques do not stop sudden, uncontrollable sneezes that sneak up on you without warning. It will only work on those sneezes that you feel coming. Many of these work because they force you to focus on a physical sensation other than your sneeze. It works in a similar fashion as when you pinch yourself to make yourself forget that your stubbed toe is hurting.
   
   • If you blow your nose when you feel a sneeze coming on, you will not sneeze.
   • Using your thumb and forefinger, pinch your upper lip lightly and press it upward toward your nostrils. Your thumb should head toward one nostril and your forefinger toward the other, bunching up your upper lip slightly.
   • Press your tongue behind your two front teeth, where the roof of your mouth meets the gum palate or alveolar ridge. Press hard with your most powerful muscles against your teeth until the tickling sensation dissipates.
   • Find a small table anywhere in your home, hover your face about 1 inch from the top of the table and stick your tongue out and just wait for the sneeze to subside. It takes about 5 to 7 seconds. It seems silly, but it really works.
   • Pinch the tip of your nose just before you sneeze and hold your breath. This may cause your ears to pop.
   • If you tend to have long sneezing jags, blow your nose frequently to clear your nostrils of irritants.
   • Tickle the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue when you feel the sneeze coming on. Continue until the urge to sneeze dissipates. This should take 5 to 10 seconds.
   • Press the top of your upper lip with a finger.
   • Spread the thumb of one hand away from the fingers. Using the sharp edges of the nails on the thumb and index finger of your other hand, pinch the flap of skin between the spread thumb and the fingers.
   • Look at the darkest and largest surface you can find. Examples may include a computer screen that is off, or someone's black clothing. Imagine yourself slowly moving into the blackness, as if you are zooming into outer space and being enveloped in more and more warm darkness. Focus deeply on imagining this, and the "sneezy feeling" will soon subside. Hint: the better you get at this, the smaller the dark surface will need to be. Also, while trying this, avoid looking or thinking of any lights or similarly bright-colored objects. This will be especially effective if you are prone to the Photic sneeze reflex (see Tips).
   • Think very intensely about the spot right between your eyebrows. Keep imagining that something is touching it until the sneezing feeling subsides.
   • It is often possible to stop a sneeze late in the build up by sucking the tip of yourfinger. This works right up until the point when you actually initiate the sneeze.
   • Try using your thumb and index finger to firmly squeeze the bridge of your nose, pushing slightly toward the corners of your eyes. If you attempt this too late, your hand is already in front of your mouth and nose.
   • With the side of your forefinger (hand held horizontal beneath your eyes), press into the cartilage on your nose, just under the bone of the bridge of your nose. This will pinch one of the nerves involved in triggering a sneeze.
   • Wiggle your ear lobe gently as you feel a sneeze coming on. This can look like you are playing with an earing or something, but does effectively stifle a sneeze.
   • Your eyes instinctively close when sneezing. Holding your eyelids open will prevent your body from allowing a sneeze to occur.
   • If you see someone about to sneeze or if they state that they feel a sneeze coming on, say "Pineapple." The absurdity and timing of the word sometimes forces the brain to "forget" about the sneeze.
   • Try using your finger to push up on the bottom of your nose as soon as you feel the tingling.
   • Using all of your concentration, visualize a grapefruit. Imagine having one in front of you and observing the color, texture, shape, and any irregularities. Think about what happens when you cut it, and the color and amount of juice inside. This should distract your brain from the imminent sneeze.
   • Clench your teeth together, but try to stick out your tongue (use the muscle to push against the backs of your front teeth).
   • Push fingernail between teeth at gum line, bottom-row teeth are most effective. Repeat as necessary.
   • Tap on your forehead between your eyes when you feel a sneeze coming on.
   • Try taking a big deep breath in, simple & discreet for those occasions when needed.
   • Hold your breath since right before you sneeze you take a breath so if you hold your breath you won't sneeze.
   • This works for some people; Think really hard about sneezing
   • For this one you will need a friend. Have him/her stand directly behind you, and then try and imagine yourself eating a very spicy taco. While you are doing this, have your friend flick your ear as hard as they can several times. This will overload the neural sensation preceeding the sneeze.
   • Try placing an ice cube in your mouth and pressing it with you tongue against the roof of your mouth. It seems to stop repeated uncontrolled sneezing.
   • Chewing a sugar free slightly menthol or spearmint gum helps to stop sneezing fits.
   • Let all your breath out. The sneeze will either go away entirely, or it'll come out weak.
   • Think that it is fine to sneeze through your nose, when you feel a sneeze coming on. Children sneeze through their nose instinctively, but adults tend to sneeze more through their mouth.
   • You can also try drawing a horse or even using your finger to do the outline of one...your brain will concentrate on the horse and you will probably stop thinking about sneezing. It usually works.
   • If you have already breathed in to sneeze, then blow out the mouth very quickly and the air will be out of the system. Repeat as needed.
   • This sometimes works although it is very strange: repeat cabbage over and over again out loud
4. 4
   Saying 'Oranges' over and over really fast will also help.

Tips

• Make it a habit to carry a tissue or handkerchief with you at all times, so that you don't feel the need to withhold a sneeze unnecessarily.
• If you do sneeze, take precautions to not spread disease. Many doctors now recommend sneezing into the inside of the elbow rather than the hands to discourage the spread of germs. At the very least you should cover your mouth and nose so as to prevent the spraying germs into the air. You can blow mucus into a tissue then wash your hands as soon after as possible to prevent the spreading of your disease.
• The Photic sneeze reflex (also referred to as sun sneezing, or photogenic sneezing) is a medical condition by which people exposed to bright light sneeze. The photic sneeze reflex can also cause one to sneeze many times consecutively. The condition occurs in 17% to 25% of humans, with more common occurrence in Caucasians than others. The condition is passed along genetically as an autosomal dominant trait. The probable cause is a congenital malfunction in nerve signals in the trigeminal nerve nucleus.
• If you have a broken rib a sneeze can hurt very badly. Exhale as much air from your lungs as you can. This will reduce the amount of pressure placed on your ribs and weaken the sneeze greatly, and the pain

Warnings

• Stifling a sneeze can be dangerous to your health. See the External Links below for more extreme cases of injury caused by stopping a sneeze.