What is that terrible feeling in your nostrils when you "lose" a sneeze?

It’s the same when you’re on the verge of sexual climax & your kids walk in on you, oh shit!

Man I hate when that happens. It’s the ghost of your would be sneeze, who has been tragically killed. It’s unfair! The sneeze is denied his glorious, mucus spewing, orgasm like moment of triumph, and turned into a ghost…to sadly float away forever, roaming the earth, haunting noses everywhere until Ragnarok…they say when your nose is itchy or when it kind of crinkles…this is the ghost of a long lost sneeze visiting you.

@Symbeline HAHA. Okay, I figured it was something like that. On a semi related note, my boyfriend hates sneezing…..what the fuck is that phenomenon? It made me question our relationship

I don’t know what it’s called, but I do know that you can get rid of it by thinking of cows. You can also keep yourself from sneezing by thinking of cows. I have no idea why this works.

@wildpotato Huh, really? I’m gonna try that next sneeze.

@Symbeline Really really. It’s super weird. I wish I could remember how I learned about it.

Edit: I found another person who says so! Here.

So you just picture a cow, or imagine a mooing cow sound when a sneeze announces itself? I really wanna try this lol.

I imagine a white cow with black spots and a bell on eating grass, and that’s it, the urge to sneeze just completely goes away. She doesn’t moo, because she’s eating. But I guess your cow could moo :) I never tried it with a cough or a yawn like that dude in the link suggests.

More evidence!

It’s like your face is all dressed up with nowhere to go.

@wildpotato But why would you ever want to not sneeze when you feel one coming? Aside from if you’re at work in a restaurant or something similar

@ucme Yeah, it’s like your face got stood up! Sad.

@deni Only on the subway or at a restaurant; sneezing is for sure more satisfying than imagining cows. Or I use it when I get the aborted sneeze feeling. I think I use it mostly for that, actually. Ooh, can we name it the Aborted Sneeze Feeling?

@wildpotato Hahahah! “DAMMIT ANOTHER ABORTED SNEEZE”

Great question and great thread. I HATE that feeling. It makes me want to punch things! And I usually get it a lot when I am just about to get sick, which makes me even angrier.

The cow thing is interesting to me, because I’ve heard the same theory about “mayonnaise.” Like, saying mayonnaise can make that sensation go away or get rid of the urge to sneeze. I have no idea if its true, but it just seems like a comparable idea – some kind of distraction/association thing? I dunno.

Maybe it’s just concentrating hard enough on something else that makes the sneeze go away?

I freaking hate that feeling. It’s like an itch combined with getting water up your nose or something. Add to that the frustration you feel due to the Aborted Sneeze, and it’s a perfect storm of misery.

I think the worst part is the inevitable stupid face you make.

I always call it a “pending sneeze.” it’s the worst.

I hate that feeling. I feel so sickly when the sneeze doesn’t come out. Not to mention that it makes for an awkward setting amongst others. I was told to say watermelon to avoid a sneeze. strange

There’s something to that whole concentrating on something else thing.

As a kid in school, if we ever saw someone was about to sneeze, we’d start yelling random words – “watermelon! picnic! fish!” – and it stopped them from sneezing almost every time. I guess it’s the distraction.

After telling my husband this 5ish years ago, he liked the idea so to this day whenever I’m about to sneeze, it’s always, “Apple! Banana! Brandon!” Every single time – and it always works.

I can’t stand losing a sneeze.

@livelaughlove21 Loathe it. I love sneezing sooooooo much.

@augustlan Excellent excellent answer. I believe professionals are now calling it AS for short, Aborted Sneeze. You are so right it does feel exactly like itch + snorting in salt water.