Sneezing after shower (Page 1)

If you think it may be an allergy, see an allergy specialist. They do a host of tests and can start to narrow the possibilities down.

Sorry I cannot be of more help,
ladybrannon

I would like to know, too. I have a sneezing fit after every shower - at least if I wash my hair. I think when I get the water into my eyes, it's what triggers it. I know I'm allergic to mold, and think it might be in the water - we have a well rather than city water. Is there anyone who will test your well water for mold? Can it build in your pipes?

I myself do not think it is mold. I have the same kind of symptoms and NO the only thing that I know that I am allergic to is poison ivy. I'm a gardener and pull rag weed and any other weed out of the ground.

I started having the shower sneezes years ago, sneeze sometimes over 30 times while in the shower. But seemed to be OK after the first half hour out of the shower.

NOT today. I have the same symptoms as the originator of this forum. Runny nose for hours. I always thought it was something in the water.

But, I have moved to several places as well.

I would love to know what causes this!!

Just a quick note about allergy specialists -- HAH! Many years ago I was married to a guy who smoked constantly. We lived in a tiny apartment and it was always full of cigarette smoke. Everybody at work smoked as well. I developed asthma, and my doctor sent me to an allergy specialist. This "specialist" did all kinds of tests on me and said I was allergic to just about everything - pets, plants, even hog hair! I asked him if the cigarette smoke could be having an effect on me, and he said no, I wasn't allergic to tobacco! They wanted to give me shots; I never went back. Got rid of the husband and have been fine ever since. And I have all kinds of pets. They don't bother me - only the shower.

This happens to me too. However, I've noticed it's season-dependent and temperature-dependent. It is not a problem in the summer, but in the winter it can be quite bad, especially if my apartment is cold. Before I convinced my landlord to turn the heat to a normal level last winter, it was dreadful.

My theory is that it is a physical reaction to changes in moisture and temperature. Maybe those of us who suffer from this phenomenon have a particular sensitivity to these changes, like people who sneeze in the sunlight.

When this happens to me, I put on a hat. That ameliorates the symptoms pretty readily. In more moderate seasons where the temperature varies widely throughout the day, I try to plan my showers for warmer times, like in the afternoon or early evening. That helps a lot.

Try this. I have been experimenting and have found that a cooler shower can reduce the symptoms. I know, I know...a cold shower sucks. Just try a cool shower...as cool as is comfortable and see if that helps you.

i read an article because i do the same thing... i sneeze after my shower and it is the chlorine in the water. if you buy a shower filter, i bet those sneezes would go away. if i use somebody else's shower, my sneezes continue until i return back to my filtered shower. no more sneezes. try it.

I'm so relieved to find I'm not the only one. This started inexplicably about 2 years ago. I suspect that I've become sensitive to the chlorine or even flouride in the water because I violently sneeze about 40 times every time I shower. And I travel so I can attest to the fact that it happens in LA, NY, Philly, Chicago, France, Netherlands, etc. I have NO allergies that I know of and have happily lived with 3 cats and a dog for years. I have no problems with perfumes, etc. Interesting about the temperature of the water because I do take cool showers. Maybe I'll cool them off a bit more.

This started happening to me too about 2 years ago when I moved to a different city in the same state. I always suspected either mold in the walls, or chlorine. If a cooler shower helps, then a reaction to chlorine would make sense:

"And even though you're not drinking water in the shower, you can absorb many times more chlorine in a shower than you do by drinking the same water! Tests show that your body can absorb more chlorine as a result of a 10-minute shower than if you drank eight glasses of the same water.

How can that be? A warm shower opens up your pores, causing your skin to act like a sponge. As a result, you not only inhale the chlorine vapors, you also absorb them through your skin, directly into your bloodstream-at a rate that's up to six times higher than drinking"

I randomly decided to google the topic, "sneezing fit after shower" because I am presently having one, and I came across this site. I am slightly relieved, but I have yet to find a viable solution. I'm not sure if any of these theories fit me 100%, b/c I have developed this problem within the past 5 years. It's progressively gotten worse. Since I have been in at least 5 different places (constantly moving around) within this time period, I can't for sure say if it is due to the content of the water or mold. I can relate to the temperature and moisture theory. I do sneeze when it's too hot/stuffy, in the car, or if it's too cold.

I have had asthma since I was 8-years-old, and I have developed many allergies to various things over the course of the time. Most of them were triggered in my early 20s. I've presented the sneezing after showers thing to my doctor, and she just kind of blew it off. I just had a fit, my chest is very sore, and I am very tired of going through half a box of tissue every day after I get out of the shower.

I am also noticing that when I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I get an instant tingling in my nose and sometimes have a fit then. I'm wondering if there is a heightened sensitivity to the temperature (like one person mentioned in this thread), as well. My nose is usually stuffed for a good portion of the day, but when I get into the shower, I can breathe a bit easier which may allow more particles to be inhaled. As for waking up in the middle of the night, I think when I am asleep, I do not breath as deeply as I do when I am awake, so that instant interruption of my breathing pattern allows me to breathe in much more than when I am just laying there.

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP WITH A SOLUTION!!! I've tried allergy medication that really didn't help this issue. For a person with asthma, sneezing only causes my wheezing to flare up. Then I have to resort to my albuterol, which causes me to have shakiness. I know...sounds crazy.

This will be the one of the strangest allergies you have ever heard of, but it really is an allergy. HEAT. That's right. Some people have allergic reactions to a rapid rise in body temperature. It has no IgE, meaning this allergy can not be tested for like you can test for a peanut allergy. However, this is why some of the earlier comments said this: "Try this. I have been experimenting and have found that a cooler shower can reduce the symptoms. I know, I know...a cold shower sucks. Just try a cool shower...as cool as is comfortable and see if that helps you."

Some other people said it is the Chlorine that when heated gets into you skin and makes you sneeze. This may or may not be true, however I can use the same shower every single day and only sneeze, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes if I get too hot.

However, you will KNOW it is a heat allergy if you have some of the other symptoms: sneezing/cold-like symptoms from being in direct sunlight, having a small-hive rash on the heated skin until you cool off (it's not sunburn so it won't stay), and feeling as though you are allergic to your own sweat because you get itchy (and maybe have the rash, too) after every time you get hot enough to sweat.

Very uncomfortable when we start sneezing. Wake up sneezing. Seeing a cat, sneezing. Outside air, as well as sneezing. It was so, when there was provocation, it was also sneezing subsided.

allergic reactions called hypersensitivity reaction is an exaggerated immune response with varying degrees ranging from mild to severe of a particular substance that is normally harmless

For what it is worth, based on my own experience I am convinced this is a mild allergy issue.

I used to sneeze after a shower every day and thought nothing of it, but I had several health problems at that point - lots of mucus in my chest and nasal cavity, mild asthma, and I would easily catch chest colds. But all this - and the sneezing after the shower - stopped completely when I removed several foods from my diet. In my case it was gluten and dairy, though I can't say that is what everyone else is allergic to. When I removed those foods several other mild allergies disappeared as well - I no longer get hay fever symptoms, and my allergy to cats is gone.

By the way, while visiting an MD "allergy specialist" or "internal medicine specialist" is a probably a good idea (I live in Canada and could therefore do so for free), the allergy specialist MD didn't find that I was allergic to a single thing. I went to a naturopath and he had me do an ELISA blood test, and told me to stay away from gluten and dairy - I did so, and poof, the symptoms were gone, including the sneezing. My asthma was completely cured in less than a week, the distance I could jog doubled within a month because my lungs/bronchial system was so clear, and my mucus issues cleared right up. I would recommend the ELISA test for anyone.

i have this problem it happens after i shower it's usually fine until i stay in the shower for too long like if im wash my hair i don't have any know allergies and i dont own any pets but it only started when i moved to my new apartment it could be the building or whatever it it that they use to clean their water i start sneezing so bad i have to get out of the entire bathroom quickly but even then i continue to sneeze for a few minutes but the running nose stay for a while once it got so bad i was sick for a couple of days

This is exactly what happens to me, panda_doll. i just washed my hair a couple hours ago and I now have cold like symptoms. one of my nostrils is stuffed up and the other is running as I type this. I hope I don't get another cold sore this time. Someone please help!

This is me as well. After years of illness it has just dawned on me that my symptoms, which are cold like, happen after a hot shower. I feel sweaty, clammy with what feels like a fever. I then suffer all day - if not two days - until it fades. I have just invested in a filter because I know I am sensitive to chlorine. I am going to try cooler and much shorter showers as well. But I think I have nailed the issue and hope to reduce my symptoms.

I'm having the same thing happen, though I don't think it is the heat because this had never happened in my home town, it's only been since I moved away to Denton. I've lived in 2 different apartments and it happens in both of them. I've also developed eczema and have noticed my skin and hair are a lot dryer and harder to manage. I'm convinced it's something in the air here... Maybe the air pollution since i'm close to the Dallas/Ft. worth area.
When I travel back to my hometown i'm completely fine, and have amazing skin/hair.

not sure if this helps anybody, but, hot water heaters have things in them called "sacrificial anodes". They are made out of either aluminum or magnesium, or sometimes a combination. They dissolve slowly over time to protect the tank of the hot water heater. This means your hot water will have a higher than "normal" magnesium and or aluminum content in it. It dissolves into tiny particles that could cause pore and skin irritation. It certainly is bad to drink hot water from the tap as aluminum is toxic, and magnesium is a famous laxative. I would suppose a shower filter would help, though I don't know for sure how small the metal particles would be or how small those filters filter... I found this forum because the same thing happens to the misses and I feel bad for her / it drives me nuts (she is a loud sneezer).

~R in Houston

PS: lo009 : The air in DFW area is abominable, maybe worse than LA. The natural gas business there creates MORE air pollution than the cars do, that's a fact. Check out the documentary film "Gasland"

This happens to me too folks, I have had sinusitis and apparent allergy problems with my nose and left frontal sinus cavity under my eye in the cheek area for as long as I can recall. I used to get many sinus infections and have also taken plenty of anti-biotics over the years, funny thing is that I have not had an actual "infection" now in many years (at least 5 yrs) but my runny nose and hypersensitive sinuses are worse than ever and were recently inflammed due to some mold in the house and it's subsequent removal and drywall replacement.

Here is how mine goes, I'm fine nothing wrong and all is well other than the usual stuffiness here and there with the occasional sneeze but then I take a hot shower and regardless of the soap or shampoo used I feel my left side begin to tingle a little and become runny and I say to myself no it's not gonna do it this time and before I know it I am blowing my nose in the shower and it's getting more runny.

By the time I get out I am straight up sneezing over & over which only makes it worse and there is plenty of clear clean watery like discharge coming out of my nose. I was very worried about maybe having some type of CSF leak and this sneezing causing it to open up or get worse but I sincerely do not believe this to be the case because many people have clear watery discharge after sneezing from allergens and it's commonly known as hayfever or rhinitis which is your body just trying to flush out the irritants basically with nasal secretions.

So I blow my nose and feel myself getting more and more stuffy and inflammed due to the sinuses being irritated from the sneezing and nose blowing and before you know it I have sinus pain & pressure in my face and feel worn out and all drained from the allergic episode that seems to be somewhat of a vicious circle. Then what can possibly occur is due to the inflammed sinuses and backup that results from their swelling you can very well get a real bonafide sinus infection but flushing with a saline solution spray (like the ocean brand one) will usually prevent this from happening and you have to remember to drink plenty of water and juices to replace the lost moisture from these episodes because it will dehydrate you which can also lead to a bad sinus infection.

What is the cause?

I believe ultimately it's the shampoo's or soaps in conjunction with the hot water that causes the chemicals, perfumes, or dyes in them to become volatile and airborne in the steam. I have now started taking cooler showers and trying my best to use only natural soap based products (coconut based) that do not have any added perfumes or dyes. This all is allergy related and you can greatly descrease the duration of the episode by taking an oral anti-histamine like benadryl although it does make me feel very fuzzy and fatigued.

There are many natural anti-histamines found in some natural herbs, foods, and in beverages like black tea so be sure to read up on natural anti-histamines to help cut down on your bodies response to the allergens which is why you start sneezing and then get a runny nose in the first place. Oh those people out there with no sinus problems they just don't know how lucky they are sometimes! You are not alone and you are not crazy or dying either there are many of us that have this problem. Peace. R

It happens to me too. I noticed that after a l0ng shower, my skin around my face becomes very dry and it pulls. That irritates me nose and I start sneezing. I get relief after I put moisturiser on my face and massage..