# Blessings for sneezers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359 "2009-06-29T16:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/21 "2009-06-30T06:04:48Z")
> [@Sonnenstrahl](#): > > Interesting - where did you hear this? I’ve only ever heard “A vos/tes souhaits” (accent grave on the first “a”, of course) in both Quebec and France. I grew up in Switzerland. I’ve always said “santé”. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/22 "2009-06-30T07:35:10Z")
I like to say, “MUST you drizzle us with your disgusting germs?” ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/23 "2009-06-30T07:57:02Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > If anyone has some other languages I could add to my lexicon, I’d love to hear them. Russian: Будь здоров(а)! _Bood zduh-ROV-(uh)!_ Be healthy! The ‘a’ is the feminine ending; use it with women and without the ‘a’ for men. Swedish: Prosit! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/24 "2009-06-30T08:00:55Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’ve got to ask: “salud”? Really? I’m just curious as to where you all live… I live in San Jose, CA, where half our cities and street names are in Spanish. Still, I don’t hear “salud” from others all that much, though. I use it for variety. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/25 "2009-06-30T09:21:20Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > slightly off topic: > I generally rotate between “bless you,” “gesundheit,” and “salud.” If anyone has some other languages I could add to my lexicon, I’d love to hear them. Hungarian: egészségedre ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/26 "2009-06-30T09:29:45Z")
Gesundheit! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/27 "2009-06-30T12:43:06Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > 1. How come you can’t just bless yourself, instead of someone else doing it? I say “Bless me” after I sneeze. My wife usually adds “Father for I have sinned” although we’re not Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/28 "2009-06-30T12:52:41Z")
I usually say “Excuse me” if I am the sneezer, and “Excuse you” if you sneezed and failed to cover your nose properly. I dislike being covered in your snot, thank you. “Here’s a tissue” and “Are you okay” are also known to come from me. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/29 "2009-06-30T12:58:36Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Please, please, please, don’t say anything. I have allergies and I’m prone to uncontrollable sneezing fits. It can be very embarrassing and the absolute last thing I need is for people to call attention to it and advertise that they heard it. It has nothing to do with religion. Just don’t say anything, please. Me, I wish people would just wait a beat or two, because I almost always sneeze twice – so I’ll sneeze, a passerby will say “bless you,” I’ll sneeze again … and there’s an awkward silence. (Nah, not really, they’ll usually say “bless you again.” Seems damned inefficient, though – if they’d just hang on for 10-15 seconds after the first sneeze …) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359/30 "2009-06-30T13:23:52Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Me, I wish people would just wait a beat or two, because I almost always sneeze twice – so I’ll sneeze, a passerby will say “bless you,” I’ll sneeze again … and there’s an awkward silence. (Nah, not really, they’ll usually say “bless you again.” Seems damned inefficient, though – if they’d just hang on for 10-15 seconds after the first sneeze …) George: I said ‘God bless you’. Was that so wrong? Jerry: The question is, did you allow a space for the husband to come in with his ‘God bless you’? Because as the husband, he has the right to first refusal. George: Yes, yes, I definitely waited. But let me say this: Once he passes on that option, that ‘God bless you’ is up for grabs. Jerry: No argument. **Unless, she’s one of these multiple sneezers, and he’s holding his ‘God bless you’ in abeyance, until she completes the series.** George: Well, I don’t think she is a multiple sneezer, because she sneezed again later, and it was also a single. Jerry: What if she’s having an off night? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blessings-for-sneezers/501359.md?page=1)