Stifling

[NYBound]

Ok So I am the one that has to ask the interesting question of...... "does stifeling a sneeze really make the tickle more intense? and does this create more sneezeing?

[Raining Strawberry]

I imagine it depends on the individual. Me personally. I stifle all the time, and I usually only need to do it once. (But then, I usually don't sneeze more than once at a time anyway.) Even if you're not actually letting the sneeze out, the air in your airways is still traveling at 100-plus miles per hour, so there's a good chance it'll knock loose whatever was irritating your nose to being with.

Of course, then it depends on how prone you are to multiple sneezes, how sensitive your nose is, and what the irritant is... if it's pollen or something powdery, I'd guess that stifling would then make you sneeze more, especially if you have allergies, since your body just wants to get rid of it.

But yeah... those are just my musings. They make sense to me, at any rate.

[Silent Sophie]

Mmh well, almost always I need to sneeze double, for calming even a weak tickle. And three times, sometimes. So i don't think that stifling really makes the tickle worse than before, but probably doesn't put it out as fast as an open sneeze.

Stifling doesn't cause me a fit, anyway. But I have to say that usually I haven't fits, unless I'm having bad allergy or cold.

[obsessed]

I hear they do, though I've never experienced it since I normally sneeze in singles anyways and I've never seen it. From what I've heard though, yes, they do tend to cause more.

[haeeshoo]

For me it certainly causes more sneezes.

I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise because the original purpose of a sneeze is to expell some irritants,

and if you suppress the expelling, more attempts are needed.

[zneeze]

I've seen people who normally stifle a double sneeze unstifled and it only be once, and I've seen people who normally sneeze once unstifled stifle and have it be a double or more. I rarely stifle, but when I do, it's never as "satisfying" and I often end up sneezing again. So I'd not be surprised

[tFM!]

For me it definately does. If I don't stifle, I normally only sneeze once. But if I stifle, I can ususally get 2-3 sneezes. Weird, but it makes sense.

[Hawkeye]

Stifling almost always without fail makes me sneeze more. Like other people have said, it's because whatever's making me sneeze is still up there in my nose and stifling keeps it in there. Usually if I stifle I end up sneezing at least three or four more times after it, if not more.