how do you "hold back" a sneeze?

[retrofan191]

Ive heard people say they can "hold back" sneezes. not stifling or holding your breath anything like that. and not by squeezing their nose to make the feeling go away. something to do with blocking your air passages and clenching your stomach? its supposed to deny the urge to breath in, as it, deny to urge for your lungs to even start tryinng to breath in? I tell you I cant do anything like that. if my body decides it needs to sneeze. the process just... starts. doesnt matter what I do.

Am I just doing it wrong? lol

[Kiwifruit]

I haven't sneezed in public or in front of anyone else since I was about three (Except for making vids for a friend, and that was really hard at first.) I have an epic mental block...all I have to do is think "NO" and I won't xD Fear of sneezing in front of people kills it really fast I don't do anything physical. Sometimes if I'm out of eyesight but still within earshot of people I might rub my nose, but all I really need is willpower.

It makes up for my lack of willpower in resisting junk food and going to bed on time... I guess some people can, some people just can't? I wouldn't know if it could be taught...I guess if I had to condition myself I'd just teach myself to be scared and horrified of the thought of sneezing in front of anyone again Fear is a powerful thing.

[retrofan191]

I haven't sneezed in public or in front of anyone else since I was about three (Except for making vids for a friend, and that was really hard at first.) I have an epic mental block...all I have to do is think "NO" and I won't xD Fear of sneezing in front of people kills it really fast I don't do anything physical. Sometimes if I'm out of eyesight but still within earshot of people I might rub my nose, but all I really need is willpower.

It makes up for my lack of willpower in resisting junk food and going to bed on time... I guess some people can, some people just can't? I wouldn't know if it could be taught...I guess if I had to condition myself I'd just teach myself to be scared and horrified of the thought of sneezing in front of anyone again Fear is a powerful thing.

I guess so it is isn't it! I wish to learn that if possible. I absolutely hat sneezing in front of people, but if somthing tickles that right spot. next thing I know, ive got lungs full of air ><

[Joal 555]

I'm always reluctant to give away trade secrets......

(so can all females stop reading now )

.....but rubbing my eyes works for me

I haven't sneezed in public (other than by choice in front of an attractive girl) in more than 20 years

[Sneezles]

I'm always reluctant to give away trade secrets......

(so can all females stop reading now )

.....but rubbing my eyes works for me

I haven't sneezed in public (other than by choice in front of an attractive girl) in more than 20 years

Joal you mean you don't want us females learning how NOT to sneeze

I can holdback sneezes if I want to but only for so long, usually by controlling my breathing but not very successful as usually ends up with me gasping and hitching breaths and then eventually the fit of sneezes that follows from doing that is intense and lots of sneezes!

[Morningsmith]

I can't do it at all either, but I'm rarely in a position where I want to anyway. When I feel a sneeze, I WANT to sneeze. Embarassment doesn't top that, at least in the moment.

[Joal 555]

I'm always reluctant to give away trade secrets......

(so can all females stop reading now )

.....but rubbing my eyes works for me

I haven't sneezed in public (other than by choice in front of an attractive girl) in more than 20 years

Joal you mean you don't want us females learning how NOT to sneeze

That's EXACTLY what I meant...

[NameTaken]

You know how in cartoons characters hold back their sneezes by sticking their finger under their nose? It made me curious to see if this would work, especially after reading somewhere that applying pressure to the area under your nose and above your lip (whatever it's name is) can stop a sneeze.

Press down hard enough, and this TOTALLY works for me. All the time. One of my best discoveries ever.

[Rhomberg Rabbit]

I can hold back a sneeze [sometimes ] but I can't explain how I do it. Wish I could help. No I don't

[kilala]

I hardly ever sneeze in public as I have a mental block as well. I just keep my eyes open and talk to whoever I'm with. If I do sneeze around other people I stifle, and I won't do it if someone is looking at me. It's frustrating because I can't sneeze if I want to

[snuffle-bunny]

If I feel a sneeze coming, holding my breath usually brings it on faster. Yeah, I'm weird.

If I really need not to sneeze, a big sniff sometimes makes the tickle go away.

[Chanel_no5]

Like Kiwi, I have an amazing mental block. I couldn't describe how, but I just... don't sneeze. Sorry I can't be of much help here.

[Midii]

I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Works for me

[LeapYearKisses]

I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Works for me

This works for me, too, especially if I'm pressing right behind my front teeth. I have also used pressure under my nose, though (ala the magic sneeze-stopping finger). Both work relatively well, but I don't have any sort of block so a lot of the time I just sneeze anyway.

[cheech]

i really don't even know how i do it. I dont allow any air to enter..and i usually just gently touch the side of my nose or start talking

I never really have had a huge urge to sneeze anyways

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Hmm... talking tends to scare it away sometimes (i.e. just plain old refusing to sneeze).

Having a mental block is also quite useful (but in my experience doesn't always win from allergies).

... rubbing your nose until it goes away wasn't allowed was it?

[Always]

I read somewhere that if you press your tounge to the roof of your mouth, the feeling will go away. I tried it once and it worked for me!

[High on Lullabies]

I also have a mental block and it's pretty good at stopping it in the most embarrassing situations for me i.e. around people I've never sneezed in front of so I don't know if/how they'll react or people I know are likely to react in a way I wouldn't want e.g. parents

Annoyingly it also seems to work very well in situations where I really would like to sneeze for my own (occasionally nefarious ) purposes.

Or if it seems like mental block will fail for some reason, I can always threaten it with being recorded. My nose has terrible stage fright!

[Quills & Wells]

I can't talk and sneeze at the same time, so all I have to do is try to say something and it will disapper

[Natto]

Trying to open your eyes while sneezing will usually transform it into a cough, in my experience.

[gottasneeze1]

I bite the end of my tongue. It almost always works, for me at least.

[Chanel_no5]

I bite the end of my tongue. It almost always works, for me at least.

Ouch, don't you bite down so hard it hurts if it doesn't work?

[gottasneeze1]

Well, that hasn't happened yet, and I really hope it never does .