Everything You Wanted to Know About Sneezing

From Richard Webb, feature editor at New Scientist magazine:

So – can your eyes really POP OUT when you sneeze? Is it true that some people never STOP sneezing? Here’s all you need to know on the subject:

• Let’s talk about your eyes popping out. You can rest easy – this isn’t true. The fluid around our eyes absorbs the air pressure that builds up during a sneeze. For added safety, the blink reflex also helps keep your eyes in their sockets.


• You should never stifle a sneeze. That’s partially true. While reports that a stifled sneeze can rupture blood vessels in the brain are exaggerated, holding both your nose and your mouth shut while sneezing forces the air to find another escape route – through a tube in the ear. The force of the sneeze can travel up to 100 miles an hour. If you hold it in, the force can burst eardrums, break nasal cartilage, and cause temporary facial swelling.


• Another belief is that some people never stop sneezing. Not quite. Yes, sneezing fits – which are actually reflex responses – have been known to last days, weeks, and even longer. The record lies with a 12-year-old English girl named Donna Griffiths. She sneezed every few minutes for 977 days between January 1981 and August 1983, but no one has ever NOT stopped sneezing. Even Griffiths stopped eventually.


• So, is there actually a point to sneezing? Well, New Scientist says it depends on your age. When we’re young, we tend to sneeze through our noses, which helps clear out the nasal passages. By the time we hit adulthood, most of us have developed a habit of sneezing entirely through our mouths, which accomplishes nothing.


• Here’s one last tidbit: Iguanas, like many lizards, are GREAT at sneezing. They do it for a specific reason – to expel excess salt stored in their nasal salt glands.