Allergy symptoms

Why Do I Sneeze so much when I Wake Up in the Morning

Nidhi Nangia
By Nidhi Nangia, Writer and researcher. Updated: September 9, 2024
Why Do I Sneeze so much when I Wake Up in the Morning

Many people start sneezing immediately after waking up in the morning, or break into sneezing fits a few minutes later. Other symptoms may also sometimes accompany with sneezing, such as itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, nasal congestion etc. Majority of cases of morning sneezing is due to environmental factors and immune related factors. Sneeze reflex remains suppressed while you are asleep, and it gets active when you wake up. Here at OneHowTo.com, we are trying to find out why do I sneeze so much when I wake up in the morning.

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Causes of sneezing after waking up

There can be several causes of morning sneezing. Some of these include:

Environmental conditions

Exposure to air conditioning or any other kind of dry air during sleep cause the nasal passages to dry severely, and trigger an attack of sneezing when you wake up.

Allergic rhinitis

It is immune related hypersensitivity usually triggered by fungal spores, animal hair and house dust mites. While you are asleep, your nasal passages get exposed to the triggers for long periods of time. Since your sneeze reflex remains suppressed during sleep, you get an immediate attack as soon as you wake up. If it is seasonal rhinitis, your symptoms may get more pronounced during seasons like spring.

Drug-induced rhinitis

If you used a drug before going to sleep last night, then you may have a bout of sneezing in the morning. If you are taking corticosteroids and antihistamines for suppressing sneezing and rhinitis, the symptoms may get aggravated when you wake up in the morning.

Non-allergic rhinitis

This is another immune related condition, but not because of any allergy. Your immune activity may go through fluctuations during sleep, which may come to you in the form of morning sneeze.

Sinusitis

Sometimes, morning sneeze may also be the result of sinusitis, as the mucus may be emptied due to change in your positions during and after sleep. This may cause irritation in your nasal lining and trigger morning sneeze.

Why Do I Sneeze so much when I Wake Up in the Morning - Causes of sneezing after waking up

How to manage morning sneeze

In most cases, morning sneeze is the result of allergies, even if you are not suffering from any other allergy. It can be avoided and also treated with improving your personal hygiene. Beyond drug and food allergies, some people are allergic to environmental factors as well, such as grass seeds and pollen. When such allergens come in contact with the inner skin of your nose, your body tries to clear it, thus sneeze.

Sometimes, you may also be allergic to something in your pillow, and changing the pillow and not just the cover may help. If you sleep the heater or AC on during the night, its filter may have something that you are allergic to. Some medicines may be used to relieve your condition, such as Allegra, Claritin, Singulair, Zyrtec etc. If nothing helps, it’s better to get help from a medical professional and get a prescription.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to Why Do I Sneeze so much when I Wake Up in the Morning, we recommend you visit our Family health category.

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3 comments
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pushpak kumar mishra
when i wake up the so much sneeze accours.what is the problem and how do i solve it?
Rating:
ramy
I usually get sneezing attacks,like minimum 7 to maximum 13,should I be concerned,health wisely????.

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Joey
Nice job of plagiarizing an article.
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Why Do I Sneeze so much when I Wake Up in the Morning