Can sneezing put you out of commission?

We’ve all done it. Some of us try to hold it back, others do it so loudly that it can be heard down the hall. Some are delicate about it, others sound like Canada geese migrating in the fall. Some people even describe it as being something close to having an orgasm. Seriously. What is it? Sneezing.

Why do we sneeze?

It’s a physiological (biological) response to the nose’s lining getting irritated. Regardless of what causes the irritation (allergies, irritation from a powder, etc), the nerve endings are stimulated and this causes an impulse that travels along the nerves responsible for the sensation (the sensory nerves), as well as the muscles that control the head and neck. While this is happening, your vocal cords have closed and there’s pressure building up inside your chest. This then leads to you expelling air quickly and forcefully (the sneeze) as your vocal cords suddenly open and the built up (pressurized) air is forced out. Of course, along with the air, mucus and the whatever irritants that caused the sneeze are also expelled.

What can happen if you hold the sneeze?

If you hold the sneeze, there are reports of people rupturing their eardrum from the build up of air pressure inside the body and less dramatic, is whatever is causing the sneeze doesn’t get expelled, which can lead to more sneezing and more frequent sneezing.

Can you get hurt by sneezing?

I’d love to say no, but I’m one of those people who once got a very bad cramp in my neck after a rather violent sneeze. When I mentioned this to some people, a few admitted to the same thing or knew someone else who had experienced it. As well, since a sneeze can come on so suddenly – and because your eyes close involuntarily when you sneeze – sneezing at an inopportune time, like when merging in traffic, or performing surgery, can cause severe consequences.

Then of course, there are those of us who sneeze when we have a migraine (ouch), when we have bruised ribs (ouch, ouch), or if you already have a sore neck (ouch, ouch, ouch) – that can all cause more pain. Or, as in the case of rookie Toronto Blue Jays pitcher, Ricky Romero, you can strain your right oblique muscle (an abdominal muscle) with a good sneeze. The pitcher is now on the 15-day disabled list as his muscle heals.

If you think this is a fluke, you only have to go back to February of this year when the same thing happened to Milwaukee Brewers’ pitcher Braden Looper.  Or, the sneeze can hurt your back. Just ask outfielder Sammy Sosa, who strained his back muscles after sneezing and had to sit out a game, in 2004.

According to this CTV.ca article, Sneezes can injure, as pitcher’s story shows, sneezing can cause more harm: “Lower back problems, fatigue and older, untreated injuries are the hidden culprit behind many of these seemingly innocuous actions.”

So, if you’re going to sneeze, don’t hold it back. If you do, you could cause some problems and when you do end up sneezing, it could be with an even stronger force than the initial sneeze would have been.

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Images: MorgueFile.com