I know that dreaded feeling when you’re out in public. You’re at the grocery store, mask on, sanitizer ready, but then… you have the sneeze. Not only will that sneeze 100% splatter all over your own face because the mask holds it back but also you risk everyone nearby scattering because you might be the next COVID Hot Spot. “IT’S JUST ALLERGIES!” you want to scream but instead you hold it inside your body and risk your brain and your eyeballs exploding to avoid the public shame.
Allergies plague a lot of people but if 2020 feels way worse than normal it’s possible stress is making it worse. A study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology found people who were in stressful situations felt more of a reaction to the symptoms of allergies than those who weren’t under pressure. The more stressed the higher the presence of IL-6 which is part of the inflammatory allergic response allergens.
I’d say in order to have less severe sneezes to just calm down… but we both know this year is not the year to say that.
