Sneezing

[Kiwi Girl]

Does anyone have any strategies to deal with sneezing and a healing sternum? I will be a month post op on Christmas Day, and suffer from hayfever and just found out today that my sister in law has a real Christmas tree in her house.

 

[netmiff]

You pour soul. The surest way to avoid sneezing in your situation I can think of is don't go to your sister's - only joking! Try hayfever pills, and take lots of Tynelol with you too, just in case. and keep your pillow close at hand, even a cushion off a couch helps. To stop a sneeze, tickle the top of your mouth with your tongue.

 

[Mileena46]

Oh don't sneeze!! Ha! The power of suggestion. I am 5 months out and it still hurts! I don't have any suggestions except DON'T!

Mileena

 

[kfay]

I am an avid sneezer...probably upwards of 50 times a day. The weird thing is though, for 2-3 months after surgery, I did not sneeze a single time. Not once. I didn't even realize it. My family, who make fun of me constantly for sneezing recognized it first. My kids thought they had fixed my "sneezer" during my heart surgery. So, I hope that you too will be sneeze free for your Christmas visit.

Kim

 

[Kiwi Girl]

. To stop a sneeze, tickle the top of your mouth with your tongue.

Wow, that works! Thanks heaps

 

[Nancy]

You can also take your index finger and press it hard just under your nose when you feel a sneeze coming on.

 

[chocoholic]

To stop a sneeze, tickle the top of your mouth with your tongue.

You beat me to it! I was about to suggest that as I've been doing it for years to avoid sneezing somewhere formal like a meeting etc. Ive never thought of tickling before. Ive always just pressed my tongue hard against the roof of my mouth. It's some sort of pressure point/nerve tricking action.

I was talking to my mum about this trick only yesterday when she sneezed for the first time in years and then felt the aftershock in her chest.

 

[Freddie]

I usually just rub the side of the nose where the "tickle" is. I don't rub hard, just firm enough and long enough until the tickle is gone.

Good Luck come Christmas Day....... take a Clariton before you leave - it may help and stay as far away as possible from the tree.

Greetings to you and yours.

 

[hensylee]

You can also take your index finger and press it hard just under your nose when you feel a sneeze coming on.

This is what I was going to say. It really has worked for me all my life and I are old.....

 

[KAJ]

I had physical therapy shortly after my release from the the hospital. He told me that whenever I fetl a sneeze or cough coming on, to cross my arms across my chess, grab each shoulder and pull the shoulders in slightly. It helped to lessen the pain from those events.

Karl

 

[Philip B]

Pillow

Pillow

The pillows many hospitals give OHS patients have been a topic of conversation here in the past. Evidently, these pillows vary in shape, size, and firmness. Mine was cylinder shaped and firm enough to help with sneezes and coughs when hugged to my chest. Basically, I packed mine around with me for the first month and a half.

Others have reported having pretty good luck by rolling up a towel and hugging it tightly to your incision site when a sneeze or cough is coming on.

-Philip

 

[Dorsai]

So am I the only person who didn't get one of those little pillows? You'd think that for the $130,000+ they billed, there'd have been a pillow in there somewhere.

I was lucky enough to sneeze only a very few times during my early recovery, but I learned quickly anyway where to apply pressure with my hands. I found that pressing one hand in at the middle of the sternum, combined with the other hand at the very bottom of the sternum, slightly to the left, worked the best for me.

Of course, I am sure results differ from person to person.

 

[cp172]

I was given a Cardio Bear. He went with me everywhere I went post op for about 60 days..including sitting beside my desk at work.

 

[Kiwi Girl]

Thanks everyone for the advice, I havent sneezed once since using all your suggestions.

 

[Jkm7]

So am I the only person who didn't get one of those little pillows? You'd think that for the $130,000+ they billed, there'd have been a pillow in there somewhere.

I was lucky enough to sneeze only a very few times during my early recovery, but I learned quickly anyway where to apply pressure with my hands. I found that pressing one hand in at the middle of the sternum, combined with the other hand at the very bottom of the sternum, slightly to the left, worked the best for me.

Of course, I am sure results differ from person to person.

I had two OHS in four years at Mass General and never got a 'heart pillow' per se. My second surgery, one of my nurses rolled a towel and taped it for me. That worked well to provide some support when I coughed.