Sneezing Advice

[TIM W.]

I have noticed a lot of talk lately in regards to sneezing. As some of you know, my cousin is a cardiac nurse at the hospital where my surgery was done. She asked my surgeon to prescribe something for me to help prevent me from sneezing. (We have 2 dogs and I sneeze a lot at home) He gave me a 30 day script for Loratadine, 10mg. It worked very, very well! I made it 26 days post-op without sneezing.
I was really nervous when I felt that first sneeze coming, but it wasn't as bad as it might have been had it been sooner. I used the same "method" as I did for coughing, pressing in a bit on each side of my incision to counter-act the pressure from the sneeze. I did hurt for a couple hours afterwards, but it was more like a dull ache.
To my friends in the "waiting room", mention this to your surgeon and get a script. I recommend it to everyone.

By the way, I just realized, I'm one month post-op today!!! And feeling great!!!

 

[srwieland]

Hi Tim,

Congrats on your 1 month victory celebration on this side of the mountain!

Where was this info 2 years ago when I had my surgery?! You are the lucky devil aren't you! All the advice I could find at that time was that pinching your nose thing, which did not do me a whole hell of a lot of good.

The EVIL SNEEZE was one of the very few problems I had with my recovery, but boy was it horrible. The more I would anticipate or fight it, the worse it was!

I hope anyone going in for surgery now pays attention to this. Perhaps you could also post it on a pre-surgery thread so that others can be more prepared.

Thanks for this very important information that will save a lot of future suffering for anyone fortunate enough to check out this site before their surgery.

 

[Nancy]

There's an accupressure point just under your nose. If you feel a sneeze coming on, just press your finger really hard at the top of your upper lip, near your nose, until the urge to sneeze goes away.

 

[hensylee]

You mean there's help and no doctors told us? Shame on them.
Think I pressed my finger on my upper lip so hard at times, it hurt my teeth right to the back of my head.


And, Lordy, Lordy, let's get this as a permanent post for those headed up the mountain.

 

[Nancy]

These are some little "mommy" secrets that we all learn along the way, mommies, that is.

Maybe there are some other practical mommy secrets to share. Maybe some of the daddies have some too.

There's another accupressure point for headaches in the soft spot between your thumb and index finger (it's tender). You've got to squeeze it quite hard till it hurts. Maybe that's what takes your mind off the headache. LOL I've always used the left hand, I can't remember why. But anyway, it works, not dramatically, but enough to get you to a bottle of Tylenol, or whatever.

 

[carbomedic]

Tim,
Good to see you on our side of the mountain!
Each day you will get stronger. Amazing what you can't do, isn't it?
Ah yes, the sneeze. No one ever told me about the sneeze and the first one was, well, wow!
I had my stuffed bear to help me, that made a big difference.
You DO have a stuffed bear?
carbo

 

[TIM W.]

Carbo

Carbo

The hospital where my surgery was done, Hamot Heart Institute, gives it's patients a heart shaped pillow, not a bear. But I prefer to use my fingers to press in each side of my incision. Able to "concentrate" and control the pressure more this way. My surgeon showed me this tip because it hurt my incision area too much to squeeze the pillow. Tim

 

[John Cochran]

Nancy mentioned the pressure point on the upper lip, and I have to say it worked great for me after surgery. It surpressed 9 out of 10 (or close to that) and if it didn't stop the sneeze altogether, it really made it a mild sneeze.

Sounds like a good idea to get these simple but hugely effective techniques into a pre-op permanent area.

 

[LA_Cruiser]

Z zneaky zneese?

I used to worry about sneezing in church (about 46-47 years ago, -yes before my first op).

I don't remember who advised me on how to avoid a sneeze.

"Place your index finger under your nose, horizontally, as if you were pointing it to the left (if you're right-handed) and rub it back and forth against your nose and your upper lip and inhale a few times (as if you were 'smelling' it)".

It works 100% of the time 'for me'.

God Gless

 

[lcwhitney]

Nancy,

You should write and publish all of your little "mommy secrets" any surgery patient would like to know how to stop most sneezes trust me I have had 10 surgeries besides my heart surgery.

Lettitia