This is most effective when you first feel that tickle of a sneeze starting to form.

Find the center space below your nose and just above where the pigment of your upper lip stops. Take your index finger and press that spot. You can strike a contemplative pose.

“Press for a moment, and that will short-circuit the sneeze,” says Upstate neurologist Anuradha Duleep, MD.

You‘ll be blocking a branch of the trigeminal nerve, which will literally reroute the neurologic signal that is sent when your body is preparing to sneeze.

This article appears in the spring 2017 issue of Upstate Health magazine.