Why is holding in a sneeze bad

The injury was unusual, more akin to what might happen to someone in a car accident or from a gun shot, Christensen reports. As Markham Heid at Time reports, people have fractured their larynxes, injured their neck vertebrae and screwed up their facial nerves by stifling a sneeze.

There are other potential complications from holding in a sneeze, according to Rachel Szekely, a doctor also at the Cleveland Clinic. So why did we evolve sneezes so powerful they can rip throats, crack ribs and squirt mucus into our ears? Most researchers believe that sneezing helps clear irritants and things like viruses out of our systems by propelling them at around miles-per-hour out of our noses and mouths.

Past research also suggests that the blast of air created by sneezing signals the cilia in our noses to kick into overdrive and clear out mucus and irritants. Whatever the cause, the study authors suggest it's best to let your sneezes out.

However, observational evidence, anecdotes, and a few studies provide insight into some common beliefs about sneezing. Although it may seem that your heart takes a break during a sneeze, this is actually not the case.

When you first inhale before sneezing, the pressure in your chest increases. Then, as you exhale forcefully during the sneeze the pressure drops. Alterations in blood flow to your heart produced by these pressure changes can affect the heart rate.

However, the electrical activity in the heart marches on unimpeded—you remain very much alive throughout your sneeze! In fact, the nerves that go to your eyes and nose are closely connected, and stimulating one could conceivably generate a response in the other. However, there is no real reason that your eyes must be shut when you are sneezing, and some people are actually capable of keeping their eyes open during a sneeze. Not true. The few people who can naturally keep their eyes open while sneezing manage to keep them firmly inside their head.

Also, holding your eyes open with your fingers when you sneeze has not been reported to cause serious eye problems. Most importantly, there is no physical mechanism involved in a sneeze that could make your eyes pop out. While blood pressure behind the eyes may increase slightly during a sneeze, this small, brief force is nowhere near enough to dislodge them from their boney sockets.

This is a good thing, since your eyelids would probably be incapable of holding your eyeballs in if a sneeze was actually strong enough to dislodge them. This is one of the many myths about preventing pregnancy. The cause of photic sneezing is still unknown, but some researchers speculate that bright light triggers the nerves involved in sneezing by stimulating the retina or pupil, or by causing the person to squint.

In susceptible people, such stimulation crosses the nerve signals that normally induce a sneeze. When you sneeze, the air that you expel is estimated to be traveling at around miles per hour. Trying to hold in such a strong force by pinching your nose, for example pushes the air into the Eustachian tube, which connects to the middle ear and eardrum.

This is different than holding back an impending sneeze from occurring in the first place, for which there is no known associated harm. Although many superstitions associate sneezing with danger or even death, sneezing is just a natural reflex, much like itching and tearing.

Most of the rumors about sneezing are not true. Find the truth behind medical myths. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences website. Accessed November 10, Messmer J. The medical minute: medical myths, part 2. Penn State University website. According to Dr. Corinne Yarbrough , an internal medical doctor with Sharp Rees-Stealy , holding in your sneeze forces high-pressure air into the Eustachian tubes — located behind your cheekbones — and could result in a ruptured eardrum.

Sneezing is the result of a biological reflex to defend your body against pathogens and irritants. The next part is not for the faint of heart: When you sneeze, air is forced out of your nose at about miles per hour, taking mucus and germs along for the ride. Picture the mucus of your sneeze traveling faster than you would drive on the freeway. The only real difference between a sneeze caused by a cold and one from a trigger substance like pepper, Dr. Yarbrough says, is that a sneeze from a cold would carry a high amount of viral particles, making you more likely to spread infection.

Yarborough answers these three additional sneeze myths:. Does looking at a light stop you from sneezing? Sudden exposure to a bright light can actually trigger a sneeze rather than suppress it, as can a dramatic change in temperature. Does it help to hold your finger under your nose to stop from sneezing? This can help someone delay a sneeze, but it is likely that the stimulus will still be there and the sneeze will still occur.

Does your heart stop when you sneeze? No, your heart does not stop when you sneeze. Weight loss prior to joint replacement surgery can seem overwhelming but may be necessary. Get started.