Violent, uncontrollable sneezing

[RecordBreaker]

I have had allergies and asthma all my life.  When I have a sneezing/hay fever reaction, it's accompanied by the usual itching of palate and eyes, and my medications take care of it.  But once or twice a month, I sneeze uncontrollably, hundreds of times, all day long, and nothing, not Allegra-D, not Claritin, not Benadryl, will stop it.  And the weird thing is, this sneezing is NOT accompanied by the usual itching.  When I have a "sneezing day," I am nonfunctional.  All events are canceled. It is absolutely exhausting.  I sometimes  wonder if it has anything to do with weather or barometric changes; it seems like it rains or there's a temp. change the following day, and my symptoms are COMPLETELY gone.  Any guesses or similarities out there?

[sneezequeen]

Hello, everyone.  I have these exhausting sneezing fits also.  I've also found in the past that nothing helps except taking 5 or 6 times the recommended dose of chlorpheniramine malate (over the counter antihistamine), which I am not supposed to do.  A week ago, I was so desperate to stop the sneezing and extreme itching in my nose and throat that I tried my usual remedy for dry coughs - it's a tea called Throatcoat.  (www.traditionalmadicinals.com - also sold at some Rite-aids in the natural remedy section).  The ingredient that helps is slippery elm bark.  Just like it sounds it's very slippery and seems to coat your throat.  I had never tried it for the sneezing fits before, but this time I did and it really helped.  It took the itch away completely and reduced the sneezing by about 3/4.  Good luck.

[misskendy]

I have been suffering with these attacks for years. They always start the same. I notice a lot of inflammation in my joints and then wake up feeling sweaty and chilled. Then the sneezing starts. It's violent and painful! My ribs pop out of place a lot. About 3 hours into it I begin itching from head to toe. I can't even describe how bad it is! It's not like hives. It's deep down and makes me want to rip my skin off. The stranger part is that the itchy areas are in symmetrical locations. Each side of the head,each forearm, each hip etc. Then my lips swell up and feel raw. By morning it will pass although sometimes I end up with asthma issues the following day. I am tired of the doctors looking at me like I am crazy when this happens. 50 mg of benedryl helps with the nasal faucet but the rest I get no relief from! I really wonder if this is some hyper immune response.

[SneezyClare]

This is very interesting - I totally recognise all of the symptoms described several times in this thread and am so relieved I'm not alone (not that I wish this on anyone). I haven't taken note, over the years of when I've had the episodes, but I had one 2 days ago on holiday in Rome. As expected, this incapacitated me and ruined 1 day of a 3 day holiday. I know I haven't had an attack in a while and the previous post really caught my attention. I had the biggest nasal polyp anyone has ever seen a couple of years ago (visible when anyone looked up my nose) and I had it surgically removed about 2 years ago. I hadn't made the connection with my violent sneezing but now I seriously think they must be connected. I am guessing I haven't had any episodes since the op, but I was told polyps tend to grow back and I think this is what's happening. I'm going to take note at the next episode and visit the doctor to look for polyps. I would recommend others at least explore this option. We all know that this is not an allergy.

[ktbhoy]

I last posted on here around June 2013. Since then I have had a very positive development that I want to share with others. Like most posters I was a victim of frequent bouts of incessant sneezing, without any indication of allergies, despite the usual tests. The situation seemed to be getting worse in the last couple of years and I would wake up in the night with a dry mouth because I could not breathe through a blocked nose. I was referred to an ENT specialist and I went there expecting the usual diagnosis that I had some unknown allergy, and a prescription for yet another nasal spry (which in the past only gave brief relief). Here's the good news; the ENT quickly found, through a sinus probe, that I have nasal polyps. He told me these are quite common and cause nasal blockage as well as sneezing and runny nose. Unlike colon or bladder polyps, the nasal variety are never malignant. He prescribed an inhaler called Rhinocort Turbuhaler, and because my sinuses were inflamed, he prescribed a 2 week tapered dose of prednisone to reduce the inflammation. However it seemed to be the inhaler that did the trick because after just 2 applications the effect was almost miraculous. For the first in two years I could breathe freely through my nose and was able to sleep soundly through the night with no dry mouth. I have now been using the inhaler for 2 months and have had no sneezing events in that time. Also, I used to go through a box of tissues in a week. Now I rarely use a tissue. What a dramatic change, and what an improvement in my quality of life. I bless the day I was referred to this ENT (his name is Dr. Bravo in Whitby Ontario). I am so grateful to him, and I hope this will lead to someone else solving their sneezing/sinus problem.

[MRankin]

Roll toilet paper into a plug the size of your nostril. Push it as far back in your nostril as you can. This stops my violent sneezing attacks instantly. It's not a cure but it beats ripping out a lung sneezing. It gives relieve until whatever the problem is passes.

[shourok1]

Finally a post I can relate to. I do not have asthma or any allergy to the common test allergists test you for. I am 18 and have been dealing with this for years and have not figured out why it happens until now. It seems to be related to a lack of sleep for me. Sure the easiest solution is to just sleep normally but if I have to stay up to study or maybe watch a midnight premier what do I do then?