FACT #31

What is a sneeze?

Sneeze is a sudden, violent, spasmodic, audible expiration of breath through the nose and mouth.

What it going on in the body during a sneeze?

Something irritates the lining in our nostrils. That irritation excites your trigeminal nerve. (An excited nerve tends to get frisky.) The impulse travels to a set of neurons in the brain stem called the "sneezing center." It’s a lot like an astronaut saying, "Houston, we have a problem." The center tells your body to rock and roll. The sneeze itself involves the chest, abdomen, diaphragm, vocal chords, throat and eyelids. It sends impulses along the facial nerve back to the nasal passages and causes your nasal passages to secrete fluid and become congested. Then it sends impulses to your respiratory muscles via the spinal column that causes the deep intake, followed by the forceful expiration and the "achoo." That’s how you release the irritant that's causing the itch.

What makes us sneeze?

Several things: Cold viruses make the nostrils extra-sensitive to irritants. Allergic reaction to pollen can cause the nose to release histamines, which are irritating chemicals that induce sneezing. Taking antihistamines blocks that natural release of histamines.

Some other things that can make us sneeze include cold air, humidity, irritants such as pepper or other smells, exposure to bright sunlight( called the ACHOO syndrome), eating too much, cooling certain parts of the skin, sexual excitement, hair pulling, shivering and even eyebrow plucking ( eyebrow plucking excites the branch of the nerve that supplies your nasal passages). Sneeze Facts: People say they sneeze more during allergy season than during cold and flu season. Up to 67 percent of people want to be prepared for their sneeze and 60 percent want to control it. Maybe they should take Benadryl

How fast is a sneeze?

Most of the research says that sneezing expels air from your nose at approximately 100 mph. (That’s 320 km/h with the average force of a sneeze at 167 km/h.) It’s so powerful because it is a reflex response that involves the mucus muscles of the face, throat, and chest. One sneeze can propel 100,000 bacteria into the air. And the spray itself can travel as far as any wind current can take it, which may be hundreds of miles.