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Sneezing happens when your body senses something that shouldn't be in your nose. If bacteria, pollen, or dust enter your nose, it'll begin to feel ticklish or uncomfortable, and shortly after, you'll sneeze. Sometimes, you may find yourself in situations where you're tempted to hold in a sneeze, be it on public transport or when talking to another person, but holding in a sneeze can cause serious complications. But what are these complications?
If you're curious to know how repressing a sneeze can damage your body, look no further than this informative gallery. Click to discover more.
Sneezing happens when your body notices something in your nose that shouldn't be there. This is usually pollen, dust, bacteria, dirt, or smoke.
Sneezing stops you from getting ill or injured by the things that enter your nose.
When foreign particles enter your nose, they may interact with the tiny hairs and delicate skin that line the nasal passage.
When the lining of the nose experiences a foreign substance, it sends an electrical signal to the brain telling it to clear the nose.
When the brain tells the body it's time to sneeze, the body prepares itself for the contraction in just a few seconds. The tongue moves to the roof of the mouth, the muscles brace, and the eyes are forced shut.
Sneezing forces water, mucus, and air from the nose at up to 160 km/h (99.4 mph). The ejection lasts for just 150 milliseconds.
In 2012, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania discovered that sneezing "resets" the cilia, the cells that line the tissue inside the nose.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that sneezing doesn't have the same "reset" effect on people with sinusitis or other chronic nasal issues.
When you sneeze, your body produces pressure in the respiratory system, which includes the sinuses, nasal cavity, throat, and lungs.
In a 2016 study, scientists measured a pressure level of 1 pound-force per square inch (1 psi or 6894.76 Pa) in a woman's windpipe when sneezing.
Crowded places or situations where sneezing seems ill-timed may make it tempting to suppress it, though this can be detrimental to your health.
Suppressing a sneeze can increase pressure within the respiratory system to levels five to 24 times higher than those caused by the sneeze itself. This elevated pressure can potentially lead to various injuries.
When you hold in the high pressure that builds in the respiratory system before a sneeze, some of the air is sent into the ears.
The pressure in the ears can cause the eardrum(s) to rupture and cause hearing loss. Most ruptured eardrums heal without treatment, though in some cases, surgery is needed.
By holding in a sneeze, the redirection of air back into the ears from the nasal passages could carry bacteria to the middle ear, causing an infection.
Middle ear infections are painful. Often, antibiotics are required to treat them, but they can clear up without treatment.
While rare, the increased pressure caused by suppressing a sneeze can damage blood vessels in the eyes, nose, or eardrums.
While diaphragm injuries are rare, there have been cases of pressurized air becoming trapped in the diaphragm and collapsing the lungs in people trying to suppress their sneezes.
A collapsed lung caused by suppressed sneezes is a life-threatening injury that requires immediate hospitalization.
The pressure from holding in a sneeze can even lead to a brain aneurysm. This is a life-threatening injury that can lead to bleeding around the brain.
While rare, there is at least one case of a person rupturing the back of their throat by holding in a sneeze. This is a serious injury that required immediate medical attention.
Suppressing a sneeze can cause high-pressure air to be forced into your lungs and cause a rib to break.
Sneezing may temporarily affect your heart rate, but it shouldn't cause your heart to stop.
While there haven't been reports of people directly dying from holding in a sneeze, some injuries from sneeze suppression, such as ruptured brain aneurysms and collapsed lungs, can be life-threatening.
If you feel a sneeze coming on and want to stop it, blowing your nose, treating allergies, and avoiding looking directly into lights can prevent sneezes. Some say saying the word "pickles" can distract you from sneezing!
Some people are more sensitive to airborne irritants and will sneeze more than others. You can treat your sneezing without holding it in by avoiding things that cause you to sneeze.
In most cases, holding in a sneeze won't do much more than cause a headache or pop your eardrums. However, in some cases, it can severely damage your body. It's best to let your body sneeze when it needs to.
Sources: (Healthline) (The Sun)
The ways holding in a sneeze can damage your body
From ruptured ear drums to diaphragm injuries
HEALTH Bad habit
Sneezing happens when your body senses something that shouldn't be in your nose. If bacteria, pollen, or dust enter your nose, it'll begin to feel ticklish or uncomfortable, and shortly after, you'll sneeze. Sometimes, you may find yourself in situations where you're tempted to hold in a sneeze, be it on public transport or when talking to another person, but holding in a sneeze can cause serious complications. But what are these complications? If you're curious to know how repressing a sneeze can damage your body, look no further than this informative gallery. Click to discover more.