I dont mind sneezing in public but i get very conscious if someone is in a conversation with me or in a position to look at me when i have to sneeze. And i know i look so yuck with my pre-sneeze expression and cant bear anyone looking at me then. The other day i wanted to sneeze in office and a guy was standing in front of my desk talking to another colleague. I was so freaked out because if i hide my face by cupping my hands i am sure to lose the sneeze. Ultimately, the tickle died its own death

does this happen with anyone else?

I don't mind sneezing in public either not at all but i'm the same if i'm actually in conversation with someone I feel really self conscious about my expression and a little embarrassed. I don't know why it's silly really lol x

aaaalll the time!! I don't mind sneezing in public at all, but my sneezes always need coaxed out by the help of silly faces, and I hate that happening in public, I feel like everyone is watching me!

I virtually never sneeze in public - I think one of the main reasons is that the first sneeze usually takes a while to come so if I'm with someone I don't want to draw attention to myself with a prolonged build up - easier just to rub my eyes until the tickle goes

Oh Lord...I'm sure my pre-sneeze expression is dreadful. I nearly always try hide it...doesn't always work though.

*shudders* Are you kidding? I can't even look at myself!

I'm not really sure what mine looks like, but I'm pretty sure it's rather silly. I usually make an effort to look away from other people right before, so they don't see my face and also so I don't accidentally sneeze on them.

My pre-sneeze expression is a lot like Dick Van Dyke's in the classic episode, "Gesundheit, Darling."
Only mine lasts a bit longer before the sneeze erupts. So if I have to sneeze in public, or especially if I'm talking to someone, I turn away hoping they won't notice until the sneeze comes. If they do, then I hope I don't lose the sneeze because that really makes you look like a dope after a really noticeable pre-sneeze expression.

I don't tend to have much of an expression until right before I sneeze, so I don't usually worry about it. I honestly don't think I was self-conscious about it until I came on this website and realized other people were.

I think I'm the same as Dead End...I never really noticed it, but I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary...haha, I'm pretty boring like that.

My build-ups are pretty inconsistent. Sometimes I get surprised, but often enough the sneeze is on my face for several seconds before it comes out - especially when I'm sneezing on repeat. I can't always get up the courage to do this, but when the situation is right, I LOVE saying something like "hold on, I'm going to sneeze."

Think how appreciated all those pre-sneeze faces would be with this group.

As a rule, I tend to modify my sneeze in public to make it a bit... girlier. I do the fluttering lashes, hand waving, etc... That pre-sneeze face is the one that I deliberately do for people, so no, it doesn't make me self conscious. However, my natural one does a little. I don't mind it in person, but in the videos I make... yeah. I get a little weird thinking about people watching them.

This came up in chat yesterday, so I thought I'd add my two centimes d'euro.

I do anything so that people around me can't see any presneeze face. This may be a left over from when I was a teenager and had a complete block. For years now though I sneeze whenever I need to where ever I am, but don't like any attention being drawn to it. If someone stares at me while I'm working up to the sneeze, it can well go away. And since it takes me a long time from the moment I feel the tickle to the actual sneeze (and a long time too between the sneezes) I feel particularly exposed.

im actually the complete opposite i love people watching me sneeze. i love to fake in front of people to see their reactions and to get all those lovely blessings!

It seems to me that in the younger generation pre-sneeze faces are lessening. Just my opinion, based on years of youtube videos, and what i've seen around me.

Not something i'm particularly thrilled about.

Yes, I pretty much can't sneeze if someone is looking at my pre-sneeze face.

I'm a very un-sneezy person anyway, and quite self-conscious about sneezing in public. The only way I can sneeze around other people is if no-one is looking at me or talking to me, and I can relax enough for the urge to develop into a sneeze. If I'm talking to someone and get a tickle, I'm usually compelled to rub or pinch my nose so it dies away... but like I say, even if I don't the sneeze will not usually come out anyway, due to my mental block.

If someone saw my pre-sneeze face and said something, like "Are you okay?" or "Are you going to sneeze?" I'd be so embarrassed I'd probably jump out of the window!

I know how frustrating that feels. I think my own pre-sneeze expression looks pretty silly (have watched myself in the mirror before now when I've had a sneeze building). While I have no problem with sneezing in public, I hate it when someone is looking at me while I feel I need to sneeze. It's like it just won't happen until they look away (or else I will look away, turn around if possible, or put my head right down and sneeze so no one can see my face while it's happening!

I have a really bad problem with sneezing in public When I feel a tickle in my nose, I try to make it go away but sometimes it just won't go away and I end up stifling the sneeze. But I make sure that I cover my face with my hands so nobody sees the build-up or the sneeze. The good part is that I don't sneeze very often in public so I don't have to worry about it

For the most part I can't stand the mere notion of seeing my pre-sneeze face. When I first started inducing a couple of years back I think that I wanted to watch myself in the mirror, but I really hated my expression. Now I avoid all mirrors. And whenever I develop the natural urge to sneeze either I stifle it because others are around, or I'm so desperate to end my mental block that I don't dare look in the mirror for fear of making the sneeze go away.

God, if someone saw my pre-sneeze face and commented... ... ... Not a pleasant prospect in the slightest.


(But here's what I find interesting about this-- Many of us can't stand our pre-sneeze expressions, but when we see them on other people, we find them sexy. We like looking at ourselves when we're feeling sexy because of our clothing, hair, etc, but draw the line at pre-sneeze faces... huh... )

Oh my goodness... I did exactly the same thing!

Once in the past I tried watching my face in the mirror as I induced, to see what I looked like when building up to a sneeze. The pre-sneeze face looked so unattractive I have not been tempted to induce in front of a mirror since!

I haven't sneezed in front of anyone since I was really little (only one person has seen me sneeze in years, and not in RL xD) and I personally hate the way I look when I sneeze. My face is just...ugh I have no problems inducing in front of mirrors, I find it kind of interesting actually, but I don't like what I see xD


That IS interesting! I guess plenty of people look at themselves and think their stomach is hideous though most people would find it very attractive, or hate their hair though everyone else loves it. Maybe this is just another one of those things where we don't appreciate our own attractive points

I really don't have much of a pre-sneeze expression, but I'm self-conscious about sneezing in front of people in general. I've been slowly getting over it lately, though!