How to Relieve Sneezing From Allergies

Facts About Sneezing

1. Sneezing is a protective reflex response⁹

2. Sneezing is common to all humans and widespread in the animal kingdom.⁹

3. Sternutation is the medical word for sneezing.

4. Each sneeze can produce up to 40,000 droplets.¹⁰

Causes of Sneezing From Allergies

If you want to determine what’s causing your sneezing fits, it’s important to identify the allergic triggers you’ve contacted. The best way to avoid sneezing from allergies is to avoid exposure to allergens. If you know you sneeze when you’re around a particular plant or during certain times of the year when pollen is high, you can minimize your exposure.⁴

Some of the most common allergy triggers that cause sneezing include^4,12:

Sometimes, you can't avoid things that make you sneeze. If you must stop a sneeze, try breathing through your mouth and pinching your nose. You can also take steps to prevent sneezing. To do this, it's helpful to understand why things like pollen, pet dander, mold, or dust cause sneezing.

Why Do We Sneeze From Allergies?

Achoo! We’re all familiar with sneezing, but have you wondered why do we sneeze? These five steps will help you understand what happens in your body when you sneeze.

1. First, an allergen enters your body. Seasonal allergens include pollen, which is released into the air by trees, grasses, and weeds during pollination.¹¹ (Learn more about what’s making you sneeze by checking our month-to-month pollen guide.)

2. Once you breathe the allergen, your immune system detects it and begins to attack it like it would a virus or harmful invader, even though the allergen in question is generally harmless.¹²

3. As part of the attack, your immune system reacts by releasing a chemical called histamine.¹³

4. The physical reactions you identify with allergies, such as nasal passages swelling up and your nose and throat getting itchy and sneezing are your body’s reactions to histamine.

5. When you sneeze, your body is trying to expel the allergen. Your brain tells the muscles in your chest to contract, your eyes and soft palate close, and next thing you know, you have your face in the crook of your elbow, and you hope there’s a box of tissues within reach.

What Happens When You Sneeze

Sneezing is your body's clever way of removing irritants from your nose or throat. It happens in two main stages⁹:

The whole process is a powerful and efficient way to clear your airways, making you feel more comfortable. It's one of your body's natural defense mechanisms to help keep you healthy.

Could It Be a Cold?

If you're questioning whether those sneezes are a result of an allergy trigger, it's natural to ponder, "Why do I keep sneezing? Is it allergies or a cold?" Take our allergies versus cold quiz to find out which one you may have. One clue is the duration of the symptoms. A cold typically lasts less than 14 days, but allergy symptoms can persist for as long as you’re exposed to the trigger, which could be a short amount of time or could stretch into weeks or months.⁵

6 Tips to Stop Sneezing From Allergies

Once you’ve determined that you’re suffering from allergies rather than a cold, you’re ready to figure out how to reduce or relieve sneezing. Here are a few actions you can take: ⁶

Follow These Tips to Stop Sneezing

Conclusion

Sneezing because of allergies can be a real bother, but the more you understand about what's setting off your sneezes, the better equipped you are to manage them. Once you've pinpointed your triggers, you can work on avoiding them and use treatments like allergy medicine to keep your sneezes at bay. And hey, remember, sneezing is your body's way of protecting itself. With the right game plan, you can keep those sneezes from getting in the way of your day-to-day life.