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?

[Gold306]

I have these fits as well - very violent and sudden, though admittedly for shorter durations than some of you.  I believe my problem is nerve- related, hypersensitivity in the right side sinus.  For this reason oral medications (cold/sinus) have no affect.  I'm not "sick" so meds have no affect.  The attacks can consist of a few violent sneezes or can last 30 min - approx 2-3 per minute.  

Luckily I have a fool proof cure for these attacks.  I'm sorry to say, but it is CIGARETTE SMOKE.   Stops sneezing dead after blowing a few hits through the guilty nostril.  I'm not encouraging regular smoking but some of you sound like it may be worth a shot.  Keep a pack of full flavored smokes around for medicinal purposes.  

I think the properties of the smoke calm my sinus nerve endings when they get all twisted up.  Kind of like how smoke calms bees - exactly like that.  Once again, this is not appropriate for infections or real illnesses - just a proven way to trick an overly sensitive sinus.  

Note: smoke must be inhaled and blown out through the nose for this to work.  You cannot puff cigar-style since in that case the smoke does not contact all of the required areas.  

It works!

[SneezyClare]

I've had 2 of these attacks in the last 2 weeks and both times took sudafed, my Rinatec nasal spray and ibuprofen - the attacks stopped within the hour. I don't know if it's the ibuprofen or the combination but it's a blooming miracle.  To keep it in context, the sneezing stopped, but I still felt off colour, and a bit like a hangover,  but after having these attacks for over 10 years, it feels like real progress,

[devilzx]

I also have had these sneezing fits for 15+ years now. Nothing helps except going back to sleep. Today: I took 1 claritin= No change. Later I took a Sudafed 12 hour type = No change. At about 12:30 I took 1000 mg of Ibuprofen = 1 hour later I can see and I have completely stopped sneezing and now am productive at work (aside from writing this!).

Next sneezing attack I will try the Ibuprofen right away and note my findings.

Good luck everyone!

[Allan82]

Every time I step outside, or even when a strong sun comes out from behind a cloud, I suddenly start having sneezing fits. They are so strong, I've brushed my chest, and even fallen over on the odd occasion, as I'm completely paralysed to do anything other than sneeze violently. Strong sunlight clearly is a trigger, but lately, it's becoming a joke, as yesterday, there was almost no end to my day long sneezing.

[Headacheheadache]

So sorry to read about all this suffering ... you have my deepest sympathies. I had something similar in my teens when my hormones were all over the place (I am female). I would have what my mother called 'one of your colds' and the main symptom was very runny nose and lots of sneezing for a day. I suffered every few months, and then grew out of it. Nowadays, it happens very occasionally. I was interested to read about the itch in one place that is almost s pain and that no amount of sneezes will relieve. I get hormone-related migraine and, thought the causes of migraine are not fully understood (and seem to vary from person to person), one commonality is the dilation of blood vessels. I wonder if something similar is behind this unusually extreme sneezing? Bless you all and I hope a cure is found very soon

[Formerdisheater]

having all of your symptoms too.  I have started swabbing the inside of my nostrils with Vaseline or Aquafor. What you put in the front of your nostrils will eventually migrate to the back. Within 30 minutes or so it seems to help. I'm guessing my old body is just not moist enough and the dryness causes the uncontrollable sneezing. After all, our body is designed to sneeze with irritation.

[jtm12]

Bless you