Why do we sneeze? Is sneezing helpful or harmful? How far and how fast can we sneeze? What is a sneeze? Why do we sometimes sneeze repeatedly? Why do we close our eyes when sneezing? Why does light trigger sneezing? Can sneezing cause you to orgasm (or vice versa)? Why do some people sneeze so loudly? Why is it called long live after sneezing? Why don’t the deaf say ‘sneeze’ when sneezing? You can find answers to these questions in our article.
Let’s first take a look at what a sneeze is.
We all know this feeling: First, the inside of our nose suddenly starts to tickle, then we inhale violently as if we are out of breath, and finally that relaxing explosion, that is, sneezing, occurs.
Illness, allergy or many other situations besides bright light can cause this explosion of mucus and saliva.
So why is sneezing unique to humans and animals?
In this article, we answered 9 questions about sneezing.
9 questions about sneezing
1. Why do we sneeze?
SneezeIt is a natural mechanism that ensures the removal of foreign substances in the body; protects the lungs and other organs from infectious agents. The medical name for sneezing is “sternutation”.
2. What causes sneezing?
Cold, allergens (pollen or pet rash), physical discomfort (cigarette smoke or environmental pollution), environmental factors (dust, rust, mold), cold weather or bright sunlight Many factors can cause sneezing.
Sneezing occurs when the cell layer covering the nose, that is, the epithelium of the respiratory tract, triggers the end of the triple cranial nerves by disturbing it, and then sends a message to the brain to initiate the sneeze reflex..
3. How fast/how far do we sneeze?
According to research, a sneeze can push air through the body at a speed of up to 150 km/h. It has also been proven that sneezes can reach much farther than previously thought.
A quick-motion video of a sneeze shows that the slimy blast moves not as separate droplets but as droplets in an invisible cloud of gas, and can therefore travel five to two hundred times further than previously thought.
4. Why do we close our eyes when sneezing?
sneeze reflextriggers all the muscles in the body, from the eyelids to the muscles surrounding all the openings in the body.
However, why we close our eyes has not yet been explained. This may be related to the structure of our nervous system, or there may be a connection that the body establishes between protecting the nasal passages and protecting the eyes.
So much so that one in four people sneeze in bright sunlight.
5. Can sneezing cause you to orgasm (or vice versa)?
Some people compare sneezing to orgasm. Although there are some similarities between the two phenomena, this comparison can often be personal.
But researchers have also encountered cases of sneezing when sexually aroused. This is probably due to cross-connections in the autonomic nervous system. This connection is in question because there is erectile tissue in the nose as in the genitals.
In addition, some people have a blocked nose during sex, this is called honeymoon rhinitis.
6. Why do some people sneeze so loudly?
The sound of sneezes can range from a polite sniffing to a terrifying roar. These differences depend on the person’s anatomy and self-control.
According to a study, 45% of people sneeze much louder in public than when they sneeze alone.
7. Why do some people sneeze repeatedly?
Some people sneeze two, three or more times on their own. According to researchers, sneezing “like a watch” People with allergies may be allergic. Also, although rare epilepsy patients may experience sneezing attacks.
However, in general, the reason for sneezing more than once is personal tics or trying to get rid of the dust in the body.
8. Why don’t the deaf say sneeze?
The British are hungry, the French are hungry, the Japanese are sneezing, and the Filipinos are sneezing. In Turkey, we make the sneeze sound.
This sneezing, which has been carried by culture for years, and in return, long live the rhetoric have been passed on from generation to generation for years.
The deaf cannot identify involuntary sounds such as sneezing and laughter. We can say that the deaf only exhale strong air when sneezing. Sometimes you have seen that normal people can also make different sounds instead of sneezing.
The haha sound that comes out when people laugh is also due to the change in their throat. So this is a changeable sound habit.
Professor at University of London. “Our effect in laughing or sneezing is simply to suppress it or make it stronger, depending on what is socially acceptable,” says Bencie Woll.
9. Why does light trigger sneezing?
Some people sneeze reflexively when they suddenly step out of the dark into intense light.
Greek philosopher Aristotle one of the first to talk about it. But he said it was the heat instead of the light that caused it.
Emyr Benbow, a pathologist at the University of Manchester, writing in the British Journal of Ophthalmologists in 1991 “Even minor and insignificant symptoms are more easily tolerated when named, even if they don’t offer much information about it,” he said. Benbow also complains about this reflex. Afterwards, he was very relieved to see that he was also in normal people.
The first study on the sneezing of people who suddenly see light French researcher Sedan in the 1950s made by According to his research on human subjects, he observed that he sneezed with the lights he held in his eyes. These light sources were camera flashers and ultraviolet lights.
Doctor HC Everett in 1964 He called this syndrome the “light-induced sneeze reflex” and neurology He wrote an article in the magazine about it. Everett estimated that between 17 and 35 percent of the world’s population is affected by this syndrome.
Studies conducted in 2010 suggest that the situation may be a little more serious. Nicholas Eriksson led by a group of geneticists, two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) caused by this reflex given when the light came out were detected.(rs10427255 and rs11856995). SNPs report a single letter change in human genetic sequence. Researchers are a little worried because this gene is located near the gene that causes seizures.
But again, it is not exactly a reason why light causes sneezing.
Another study offers another thesis about how light makes people sneeze. Connecting the eyes and nose fifth cranial nerve or three twin nerves (trigeminal) is still under investigation.
On the other hand, one of the theses is to the autonomic nervous system belong or “parasympathetic generalization” The thought that it may be the result of a function also known as
The parasympathetic nervous system regulates the automatic functioning of functions such as the body’s digestion, excretory system, secretions produced by the body, and sexual arousal. While the light suddenly shrinks the pupils, sneezing may occur as the mucous membrane causes secretion and triggering.
Emyr Benbow mentioned in his 1991 article that this problem can be dangerous.
Scientists take this issue seriously. Although it may seem like a normal activity, this sudden reflex can cause momentary blindness. This reflex can cause problems when someone who has been driving for a long time enters and exits the tunnel
