A question about the difference between random, allergy and cold sneezing

[Shamaël]

Okay, I'm not sure whether I whould post it here or in the observations. I'm getting ill. It started yesterday, when I went to bed I felt that my throat was sore and that I had trouble swallowing without pain. When I woke up it was worse and my nose was a bit stuffy but... no sneezes. The first one occured in the beginning of the afternoon. I don't sneeze much, I don't have allergies, but I sometines sneeze for no reason. The natural sound of my sneezes is something close to "Hep'TCHah!". But when I'm sick, my sneezes are much harsher (and much louder, I'm afraid ) and I have the feeling that they are taking half my throat and palate with them. So this afternoon when I sneezed (quite painfully) and it sounded like "AhhHHHRSHuh!" I understood that I was going to be sick and that there was no escaping it. It's a mild cold, I don't have a fever, my nose isn't running that much but my throat is aching when I swallow and I sneeze (violently) from time to time. (And as I'm alone at home today, there's no one to bless me. )

My question is as follows: is there a huge difference between your "random", "allergy" and "cold" sneezes? What are your "different" sneezes? And do you find it aggeeable to sneeze in one of these circumstances, but not in the others (because the sneeze is painful, uncomfortable, too loud...)? I apologize if this question has already been asked.

[Rhomberg Rabbit]

Random, allergy, or cold, they're all the same. My sympathy; colds suck.

[SneezyKateM]

My allergy and cold sneezes are a little different.  My allergies dont make my throat hurt, so when it hurts/is sore it makes me think I might have a cold.  

My cold sneezes feel more hash to me, almost more 'burning'?  My nose with allergies is more itchy and with a cold is more 'burny' feeling

I dont know if anyone can notice the difference though

Neither are agreeable, but im more used to my allergy sneezes. 

[Chanel_no5]

This is so funny, because RIGHT NOW I'm writing a fic which includes this little detail. As in, it's in another open tab as I write this.  

Okay, my random sneezes mostly feels like they come from nose and mouth. They come, do their job, and the irritation is over and done with. 

Cold sneezes feels more like they come from throat and chest. They're messier and painful, and usually my nose burns and my throat hurts afterwards. Some colds make me sneeze in fits, but not all. But that burning in my nose tends to linger, even if it doesn't necessarily feels like have to sneeze again after each time. 

I'm not extremely used to allergy sneezes as the only thing I may have an allergy to, and I'm still a bit in denial, is hyacinths, which I don't encounter very often, thank God. But those are ITCHY. It's a little bit like a cold, except instead of hurting, my throat itches. My ears itch. My entire sinuses itch. Those sneezes kind of feel like a combination; it feels like they come from nose, mouth, sinuses and throat. 

I'm not sure I made much sense explaining this. But yeah, it feels like there's a difference. I think other people can tell too, if they really listen. But come on, who would bother doing that?! 

Oh. Right. We do.  

[MoreMoose]

I was thinking about this a month or so ago when I had a cold! A bit of background: I realized that my "random" sneeze pattern changed at in my late 20's; I used to sneeze doubles like, 95% of the time: sneeze, breath, sneeze. Somewhere along the line, I started sneezing in runs of four with no real breath in between the first three, so they go in decreasing intensity, then the last one where I get a breath in, so it's bigger. Back to the cold thing, I realized that they were singles (more noticeable when you usually sneeze four, than when you usually sneeze two), and harsher than a random sneeze. I can't chime in at all on the allergy piece, but I thought it was interesting. Thanks for bringing it up!

[Luisa39]

My cold sneezes actually tend to be like my random ones--in other words, rather quiet.  It's my allergy sneezes that tend to be louder, I think because they are more itchy.

Oh, and bless you, Aliena!  A tes souhaits!  That must really have been a violent sneeze!

Edited November 13, 2017 by Luisa39

[Captain Carol]

I know for sure my cold sneezes are most certainly louder and more messy. Spring is like a nightmare to me because I'm literally allergic to everything, but they tend to sound more itchy, as if my nose is trying to rid itself of an irritant, while my nose sneezes in fits of (the most I've had is a fit of 8) with a cold trying to spray out all the germs and stuff, so there's usually more buildup to it.

[Shamaël]

Thank you for all your answers! It's very interesting to see that we experience allergy / cold sneezes differently. I thought that maybe there was a kind of "universal law", but it appears that it's different for each and every one of us... Fascinating.

I like, when someone sneezes, to try to determine if this is an allergy sneeze or a cold sneeze. For my boyfriend, I can always tell, because I know him very well, but I am under the impression that generally cold sneezes tend to be more "throaty" ans allergy sneezes more "itchy"... not for everyone, but in general?

@Luisa: Thank you!!! Merci!

On 12/11/2017 at 8:09 PM, Chanel_no5 said:

This is so funny, because RIGHT NOW I'm writing a fic which includes this little detail.

In fact, it's one of your fics that made me think about that... ("You have a cold. Again." - because you make a distinction between the different types of sneezes and it caught my attention.) And I agree with the way you describe the different sneezes in your post. I feel more or less the same.

On 12/11/2017 at 8:09 PM, Chanel_no5 said:

I think other people can tell too, if they really listen. But come on, who would bother doing that?! 

[Jeff1]

I can definitely tell the difference between my allergy sneezes and cold sneezes.  Allergy sneezes tend to be on the drier side.  There are more of them and it’s more of a quick itchy feeling inside both nostrils.  My cold sneezes are much deeper, fuller and more powerful and much wetter.  They tend to tease me with more build ups and usually only tickle in one nostril at a time.

[timelysmith]

My random sneezes are always the largest.  Usually I can hold back my cold ones a lot easier if I want to.   Random ones usually result in my whole body getting rocked forward.

 

[notreallyhere]

My allergy sneezes are lighter, drier and more rapid-fire. They're harder to hold back because they're tickly and tend to come in fits, with the last one usually being the biggest. I haven't counted my sneezes but I can easily go up to six or seven with allergies, probably quite a bit more. 

My cold sneezes are usually much stronger and wetter. I can sometimes hold them back, especially at the beginning of a cold, because there's more warning, and more time in between sneezes, but as the cold gets worse, the sneezing gets ... deeper? and it gets more painful and more difficult to hold them in. I find cold sneezes more satisfying, even if they do sometimes leave me feeling kind of hollowed out. For want of better description, they scratch a deeper itch. 

Funny, this topic. I was certain I had allergies this past weekend, from the amount and type of sneezing I was doing, but after a couple of days I developed a sore throat, yesterday woke up with a low fever, and now I feel like I have a cold. It's not a very bad one, as colds go, just a good bit of congestion and some coughing. And my sneezes have changed, too....

[forestdaze]

My allergy and "random" sneezes sound the same for the most part-- My random sneezes are usually a bit on the softer and lighter side and they don't take much out of me: sniffle and move on.

The biggest difference {between random and allergy sneezes) is I will tend to get an itchy throat/nose/eyes/ears accompanying certain allergies and some congestion with allergy sneezes. My allergy sneezes are wetter than my normal sneezes, which is saying a lot, haha. They are also more consistently rapid and tease me so much. If I'm having an allergy fit I will most likely have a crescendo of sneezes because it gets so exhausting/I don't care anymore and I also have constant buildups/hitching/false starts, you name it.

My cold sneezes are definitely harsher, like you mentioned observing yourself. They usually hurt my throat and just make my nose run like a faucet and I'm a mess. I will sometimes try not to sneeze (normally) if I am in public but when I have a cold it is really uncomfortable for me to do that.

[BlondeSneezer]

My random and allergy sneezes are pretty much the same. Not too loud. Maybe a little wet but nothing crazy. 

My cold sneezes are intense. They start out very itchy and they're usually very loud and messy with lots of hitching beforehand 

[SleepingPhlox]

Mine are all very very different:

Cold sneezes:  the force come from the chest if that makes sense.  There is a lung-power there that isn't there with the other ones.  The most forceful ones.  Not a lot of spray, but pretty messy.  You know what I mean. 

Random sneezes:  More breathy, the force comes from what feels like the back of my throat.  The driest ones.

Allergy/Irritant:  The force really feel like it comes from the back of my nose.  So.  Much.  Spray.  (My seasonal allergies mostly just make my eyes water, but very very rarely will produce sneezes.  I'm also including irritant ones under here because there are some things that will regularly produce this sensation like when I'm cleaning out the ashes from the fireplace)

[Shamaël]

Thank you for all your answers!

[gingerdean]

I don't think that my various 'types' of sneezes sound different from each other, at least that I can tell. I agree with a couple others that cold sneezes have more of a burning sensation building up to the sneeze, and allergy sneezes feel like more of an itching sensation.  I usually have more of a slow buildup with cold sneezes- or, I can at least tell that a sneeze is coming on sooner than I can with other sneezes. Allergy sneezes tend to come on quicker, and as a result, feel a bit harsher sometimes. And random sneezes are just...random?   I guess they generally fall in-between allergy and cold sneezes in regards to buildup and sensation... but some 'random' sneezes feel and sound different from other ones,  so....I'm not sure how to answer that 

Edited November 22, 2017 by gingerdean

[Ben Drowned]

all my sneezes either way are wet but my cold sneezes are worse and high pitch

allergy sneezes are high pitched but more controlled 

and random fits they are just down right repetitive, high or low pitch ans can't be controlled don't asked why they just aren't

[taléya*]

Hello Aliena,

I'm sorry to hear you are ill.

Perhaps your cold sneezes are more tickly because your nose is irritated or stuffed already? 

Your body tries to get the itching out and you have to sneeze more powerful and often.

But I can't tell you certainly if there is a difference between your sneezes.

I think it always depends.

I feel bad to read your throat hurts with every sneeze and as you told us they are voilent and you can't escape from it.

Maybe some tea or salvia will help you to feel better?

I don't have allergies and I live in an Atlantic clima - where it isn't snowing or cold and stormy and in November / December we still get 25 centigrade.

So I just can give you some advices, I hope it can help you a bit.

Bless you, à tes souhaits and get well soon.

Wish you all the best.

[Bless Boy]

For me the difference is pretty simple, cold sneezing is a bit painful due to the whole soar throat thing. Whereas my allergy sneezes are just super itchy and persistent 

[KaoriS]

My cold sneezes are always louder, more aggressive and wetter than my random or allergy ones

[Italiangirl]

My allergy sneezes feel waaayy ticklier than cold ones,they don't hurt my throat and they are wetter but usually less congested.