Sneezing may be a defense mechanism of the body but it’s irritating. When something tickles or irritates the inner part of the nose, it causes are action between the brain and the muscles that leads to a sneeze. In the end, you’re getting rid of whatever’s in your nose.
What causes you to sneeze?
It’s an allergic reaction to particles in the air. The infamous condition is called allergic rhinitis, or hay fever or seasonal allergy. There are also photic sneezers who sneeze when hit by bright light. But even non-photic sneezers can have a reaction to bright light which can cause us to sneeze.
Solutions you can find at home
Sometimes it may be impossible to avoid allergens and other triggers for allergies. Physicians often prescribe antihistamines, decongestants, and nasal sprays. If you’re a natural sneezer, and you sneeze more than most, you can look for remedies lying around your household. Check out some of them.
Stinging Nettle
It has a lot of iron, calcium, and other essential minerals and vitamins. But aside from all the nutrition it contains, it also has some very healthy qualities. Being an antihistamine, tonic and diuretic are a few of the things that make stinging nettle great against allergies and all its symptoms.
What to do:
Take it twice or thrice daily, especially during the months of hay fever.
You can make tea by putting the herb in hot water. You can also add local honey. Drink two to three cups daily.
You can also take one to two capsules of nettle extract. We recommend the freeze-dried version. Do this every two to four hours, depending on how much and how often you sneeze.
Children below twelve should not be given two or more capsules daily.
Chamomile Tea
This is another herb which naturally combats allergies. It also has sedative properties. Make a cup before sleeping at night. It can prevent sneezing and help you sleep more soundly.
What you need: a teaspoon of dried chamomile, a cup of water, and if you desire, some local honey. What to do:
- Put dried chamomile in the pot with water.
- Boil for a few minutes.
- Strain and mix in honey.
- Drink it two times daily.
Vitamin C
This is a vitamin that naturally battles allergies. Drinking a glass of lemon or orange juice can protect you from sneezing. Oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and some veggies contain vitamin C to get you through the day.
You can add drops of lemon juice into tea or you can take capsules or tablets. Ask your physician how much you should take though.
Inhale Steam
When foreign particles enter the nose, and causes irritation, your immune system gets into action by creating antibodies. This in turn leads to the production and release of histamines that cause you to sneeze, have a runny and clogged nose. Inhaling steam could provide great relief though.
What you need: a bowl of hot water and a towel.
Put the bowl on a table. Sit on a chair and lean above the bowl. Use the towel to cover both your head and the bowl, thus trapping the steam for you to inhale. Don’t lean in too close to the water since it may be too painful if it’s too hot.
It’s also a good idea to mix in a couple of drops of essential oil to the water. It can add to the effect.
Peppermint Oil
This is one of the many essential oils that are great against sneezing. It is a natural decongestant and can loosen up your airways to make breathing easier. This helps to stop sneezing.
What you need: a bowl of hot water, five to six drops of peppermint oil and a towel.
Mix the oil into the hot water and do what you did in the previous item. Breathe in the steam and feel the difference.
Lavender Oil
This oil can both decongest the airways and enhance immunity. This leads to stopping sneezing. A stronger immunity means a stronger resistance against allergies. It may also lead to a weaker histamine response.
What you need: two drops of the oil and if you desire, a cotton ball.
Dabbing a single drop of this oil in both nostrils can automatically stop you from sneezing. When you swipe a single drop of this oil on the inner portion of your cheek, it can stop both sneezing and a runny nose in a minutes.
If you’re not comfortable with dabbing the oil in a nostril or within a cheek, then you can just sniff out the oil after you’ve put a few drops on a cotton ball.
Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon oil has a lot of vitamins and minerals. It also has very potent anti-oxidants that can help cleanse your body of toxic materials. One of these toxins is mucous which could be causing your sneezing. Lemon oil can also fortify your immune system.
You’ll need around one to two drops of this oil.
There are several ways to go about this. You can mix it with hot water and breathe it in like the other oils above. You can breathe it in directly. You can use a diffuser. You can mix it with the water that you drink every day. Or you can dab it on your nostrils.
A mixture of essential oils
Mixing the essential oils can prove very potent when trying to relieve yourself of allergy symptoms. They can also enhance the immune system, making sure that you are protected against the causes.
What you need: three drops each of lavender, peppermint and lemon essential oils. You can also opt to use a diffuser, or a veggie capsule, or a teaspoon of local raw honey.
You can put all the oils in a diffuser. You may put them all in a veggie capsule and take it like you would any medicine. You can also blend them with local honey.
Ginger
It’s anti-inflammatory, analgesic with anti-oxidants and anti-emetics. Ginger has been used for a very long time as a healing agent. It can cure viral illnesses, and it is also an antihistamine so it’s potent against allergies.
What you need: an inch or two of fresh ginger root and a sieve or clean cloth. Try washing, peeling and crushing ginger root and extract the juice through a sieve or cloth. A teaspoon or two of the juice is okay. Take this two times daily.. Garlic This is very potent against bacteria, viruses and allergies. It is suggested that you use garlic when colds cause your sneezing. What you need: four to five garlic cloves.
Start by crushing the cloves and putting the crushed garlic in either a spoon or a small plate or bowl. Breathe in the smell to clear your nasal passage of whatever it is that is causing you to sneeze.
Fenugreek Seeds
This can soothe irritation in the nose, while decongesting it. So it keeps you from sneezing and relieves you of a runny and stuffy nose. It’s also great against a cold.
What you need: two to three teaspoons of fenugreek seeds and a glass of water.
Start by adding fenugreek seeds into water. Boil the water, until half evaporates. End by straining, then sipping. Do this twice or thrice daily.
Quercetin Based Foods
Quercetin is a great natural antihistamine, one of the best in fact. Yes it’s true, you can always purchase supplements in stores, but you can also try including naturally quercetin-loaded food in your meals. Look for apples, black teas, red onions and tomatoes.
Saline Solution
You can wash all those sources of irritants from your nose with saline solution. This will help you ease your breathing, and stop sneezing. The warm water can also heal inflammation. Saline solution is therefore great against the effects of allergies.
What you need: half a teaspoon (or a full teaspoon) of salt, a cup or two of warm water, a dropper or a squeeze bottle. You can also opt to include a fourth or half a teaspoon of baking soda.
Start by mixing the salt and baking soda with warm water. Fill the device of your choice with the mixture. Rinse your nose. Just remember to have your mouth open so you can breathe as you let the solution into your nasal passage. Try adjusting your head to let the water in a nostril drain away. Do this with the other nostril.
Keep doing this until you feel relieved.
You can also use a neti pot, but we suggest that you learn from a yoga expert first.
Oil of Oregano
This particular oil is potent against viruses, bacteria, fungi, and inflammation, and it can provide relief against sneezing, and to a higher degree, sinusitis.
What you need: two to three drops of the oil, a glass of fruit juice (orange or apple will do).
Mix the oil into the juice. Drink this every day. You may experience relief from sneezing, especially if it is because of infections in the sinus.
More tips
Remedies are always good, but prevention is better. Check out the tips on how to stay away from the things that make you sneeze.
Keep dust from entering your home. Don’t use carpet on the entire floor, down-filled bed sheets and feathered pillows. Wash the drapes and curtains with hot water. Aside from dust and pollen, they may also harbor dust mites that can give you allergies as well.
Always keep your mattress wrapped in covers that protect it from dust. Use a wet/damp cloth when cleaning your home. That catches the small particles that make you sneeze.
Use wet/damp mops as well for the floor. If you can, purchase a filter for removing allergens and dust in the air. Whenever hay-fever season is upon you, stay away from places where pollen is everywhere.
By avoiding stressful situations, you avoid stress, and you avoid having your immune system weakened. This lowers the chances of an allergy attack and sneezing. Wear a sunglass or a scarf if you’re a photic sneezer.
Helpful tricks to stop yourself from the sneeze
Try doing these when you think a sneeze is well on its way. These are great ways to stop a sneeze dead in its tracks.
In a gentle manner, pinch the bridge of your nose for a couple of seconds. Hold your breath during this time. Use the tip of your tongue to make contact with the roof of your inner mouth. Slide the tongue against the roof for a couple of seconds. Put two fingers beneath your nostrils and apply pressure on the bow of the upper lip. Wait ten seconds. Pinch the upper lip gently and press it up towards the nose. Put a bit of pressure on your ears or wiggling the lobe lightly works. Think of something else other than sneezing. This helps especially if you are a heavy sneezer.
Now you have all this info on how to fight the sneeze, it’s important that you realize its function. Sneezing is a way for your body to expel objects in it that it doesn’t want. Stopping sneezing completely may have bad effects in the future. Sneezing during allergy season is fine. Again, it’s your body’s response to allergens in the respiratory tract. The only time you need to really figure out which remedy to use is when sneezing becomes non-stop and how you go about your day is affected.
