Uncontrollably Sneezing

Hello,

My mother is 55 years old and she have problem of Uncontrollably Sneezing. This is not regular however 3x a week.

Possibly this could be happnning due to dust and I observe it is very strange because whenever she gets this allergy shots, during that time if she touches the water, sneeze get uncontrollable.  She is facing this problem since very long time.

We consult to Some doctors whenever she was going thru that problems and doctors opening was it is normal and they said she is suffering from sniffels.

Kindly suggest what such allergy could be.

Thank in advance.

PM

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and a very warm welcome to this forum.

Understand your concern. In an entity called allergic rhinitis, the symptoms are similar to a common cold, but they are usually more persistent and show seasonal variation. The individual responds to an allergen, which can be in many forms like dust and household mites. It starts with severe sneezing episodes. It appears that your mother is suffering from such a phenomenon. The allergic history usually runs in families.

You can tackle this problem in the following ways: Prevention and Therapy during attacks.

For prevention: Try to maintain an allergen-free environment. Substitute all synthetic and cool materials with cotton ones. Remove all dust-collecting household articles like carpets, bedspreads etc. Environmental triggers or seasonal or diurnal variations triggers may be difficult to avoid. More so, if it is something like water. But you could see if temperature variations in water are triggering the attacks, also see if you can change the water source and see if the reactions persist.

At the allergen level, you can consult an allergy specialist, who after doing some skin tests, will be able to specify some allergens. She can either avoid exposure to these allergens or desensitize herself. She in all likelihood is undergoing therapy now.  

Using low dose steroidal nasal sprays, are very effective. The steroid in the spray is very low and acts only locally. Two puffs in each nostril two times a days for about a month. The effect starts only after 2weeks of therapy.

Once an attack has occurred, the antihistamines like chlopheneramine, lovatidine are effective. Nasal decongestant drops too relieve congestion.

Hope she gets well soon and do keep us posted.