Sneezing when held

Question
Hi, i have a 8 and a half week old female Syrian hamster. she is very energetic and loves her wheel. i have only had her a few days but have noticed that she sneezes alot. she doesn't have a runny nose or show any signs of a cold other than sneezing. Whenever i go to pick her up she sneezes alot more than usual and just doesn't stop until about a minute after i put her back in her cage. I have also noticed that she washes herself alot which didn't bother me that much until i noticed that she seems to be scratching herself alot aswell and putting her feet in her ears. Any ideas what could be wrong with her?
Thanks
Jess

Answer
Do you wash your hands before you pick her up? Do you wear any type of fragrance on yourself and what type of bedding do you use? It seems like she is allergic to something. Hamsters constantly groom and scracth themselves which is normal. If she is scratching herself to the paint that she is losing fur and bleeding then she should see a vet asap.