# Stopping sneezes the old fashioned way **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527 "2023-05-24T17:06:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/1 "2023-05-24T17:06:37Z")
I grew up in the late 60s/ early 70s watching Three Stooges and Little Rascals reruns. One character was always trying to stifle another’s sneeze by placing a finger horizontally underneath their nose. Is that something people actually used to do? Does it ever work? It doesn’t for me. heck, I mostly sneeze through my mouth anyway! ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/2 "2023-05-24T17:23:07Z")
Yes, it works for some people. Me, for example. Not you, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/3 "2023-05-24T17:34:30Z")
It works for me, but it really only works if you press the finger pretty firmly against your philtrum (the groove between your nose and upper lip), where it meets your nose. Just placing your finger in that spot won’t do it, you have to press. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/4 "2023-05-24T17:35:28Z")
There’s even a TV Tropes page: > **[Anti-Sneeze Finger - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AntiSneezeFinger)** > > Very common in western animation, when one character is starting to sneeze and current situation calls for being quiet, this character or someone else will use a finger under nose to stop the sneeze from happening. This is typically followed up … ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/5 "2023-05-24T17:37:36Z")
Okay, but did people, once upon a time, perform this maneuver for others? Or was that just an odd Hollywood thing? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/6 "2023-05-24T18:05:04Z")
I’ve tried it on my wife before. Sometimes it worked, other times I got my finger sneezed on. Granted, many of the times it “worked” were when she pulled back asking “What the hell are you doing?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/7 "2023-05-24T18:47:31Z")
> **[How to stifle a sneeze | What's Up at Upstate | SUNY Upstate Medical University](https://www.upstate.edu/whatsup/2017/0407-how-to-stifle-a-sneeze.php)** > You‘ll be blocking a branch of the trigeminal nerve, which will literally reroute the neurologic signal that is sent when your body is preparing to sneeze. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/8 "2023-05-24T18:51:38Z")
FWIW, I pinch my nose shut. Works around 75% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/9 "2023-05-24T18:52:29Z")
In other news, can anyone trigger a sneeze? I can, by scratching my temple, just above my eyebrow. Handy when a sneeze just wont come out - doing that gets the sneeze to, uh, finish. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/10 "2023-05-24T18:57:14Z")
I look at a bright light. If a sneeze is coming, that clinches the deal. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/11 "2023-05-24T19:02:19Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > I look at a bright light. If a sneeze is coming, that clinches the deal. ⁢ Does it cause you to sneeze otherwise? Or only if you already feel like sneezing. I’ve always been fascinated by this reflex, and knowing you can only halfway have it could be interesting. > **[Photic sneeze reflex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze_reflex)** > > The photic sneeze reflex (also known as Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) syndrome) is an inherited and congenital autosomal dominant reflex condition that causes sneezing in response to numerous stimuli, such as looking at bright lights or periocular (surrounding the eyeball) injection. The condition affects 18–35% of the world's population, but its exact mechanism of action is not well understood. > The photic sneeze reflex manifests itself in the form of uncontroll... ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/12 "2023-05-24T19:04:30Z")
When my daughter was a baby, she would start sneezing every time she was exposed to the sun. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/13 "2023-05-24T19:08:44Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > You‘ll be blocking a branch of the trigeminal nerve, which will literally reroute the neurologic signal that is sent when your body is preparing to sneeze. This would have been good to know just yesterday, when I was eating a raw carrot. In the middle of chewing, a powerful urge to sneeze came on. Not wanting to spray a million tiny pieces of mostly chewed up carrot everywhere, I closed my mouth most of the way and tried to route most of the force of the sneeze through my nose. It mostly worked, but anybody seeing it would have thought I was having a seizure. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/14 "2023-05-24T20:52:10Z")
Am I the only one who enjoys a good sneeze? I like to really cut loose, assuming it’s the right time and place. I can rattle the neighbors’ wind chimes. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/15 "2023-05-24T22:22:27Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > I look at a bright light. If a sneeze is coming, that clinches the deal. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > When my daughter was a baby, she would start sneezing every time she was exposed to the sun. Many years ago there were a couple of coworkers that I would regularly go to lunch with. As we’d walk out the door of the office building into the sun, one of the coworkers would count down “3… 2… 1…” and right on cue the other guy would start sneezing like crazy, rattling off about half a dozen in a row. It was almost like some bizarre parlor trick. And no, I never stuck my finger under his nose to see if I could keep him from sneezing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/16 "2023-05-24T22:27:01Z")
If we’re gonna link to an article about Photic Sneeze Reflex, how about this one from a column by some guy named Cecil Adams: > **[Why do some people sneeze when going out into bright light?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341691/why-do-some-people-sneeze-when-going-out-into-bright-light)** ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/17 "2023-05-24T22:49:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It works for me, but it really only works if you press the finger pretty firmly against your philtrum (the groove between your nose and upper lip), where it meets your nose. Just placing your finger in that spot won’t do it, you have to press. Same here. It nearly always works provided I press HARD. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/18 "2023-05-25T08:57:23Z")
One of the directors at work ended up having surgery after injuring his neck suppressing a sneeze while in church. The general advice is to not do it. [The Potential Dangers of Holding in a Sneeze](https://www.healthline.com/health/holding-in-a-sneeze#side-effects) ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/19 "2023-05-25T11:37:03Z")
It works for me sometimes. ALso…saying to yourself several times “Ice Cream” (“grapefruit” also works) But I have to push the end of my nose up with my finger…just holding my finger under my nose does nothing. So, I walk around the house on occasion pushing my nose up with my finger saying “Ice Cream”…its quite the visual, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527/20 "2023-05-25T11:45:27Z")
I was always told the same thing. _Do Not_ sneeze towards other people or things, but use a handkerchief to catch the blow-out and let rip. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-sneezes-the-old-fashioned-way/984527.md?page=2)