Everyone sneezes. It’s the body’s natural mechanism for removing irritants from the throat or nose. Sneezing is a unique body reaction because it happens involuntarily and doesn’t come with a warning. Most of the time, sneezing doesn’t indicate any serious health concerns. However, it can be a key sign of an allergic reaction to pollen or hay. Because it happens so fast, most people tend to ignore the entire concept of sneezing. Here are some facts about sneezing that will blow your mind.
1. The Longest World Record for Sneezing Lasted Over Two Years
Donna Griffiths holds the Guinness World Record for the longest sneeze, lasting 976 days. She started sneezing on July 26, 1981 and stopped on September 16, 1983. During this period, Donna Griffiths released millions of sneezes.
2. It’s Impossible to Stop a Sneeze
Sneezing can sometimes be embarrassing, especially in public places such as the office or movies. More intriguingly, sneezing is involuntary and can’t be stopped once it gets going. The only things that can be done to prevent sneezes are avoiding triggers and treating known allergies.
Also, trying to suppress a sneeze is not advisable. It can rupture the eardrums or damage blood vessels in the nose and eyes. There is no need to try to stop a sneeze, anyway, because this reaction helps remove irritants from the nasal system.
3. Sneezing Happens with the Eyes Closed
The other thing that is impossible to do when sneezing is to keep your eyes open. Before a sneeze occurs, the body automatically shuts down the eyes. In the same breath, there is a common myth that opening the eyes while sneezing can cause the eyeballs to pop out. That’s false because the air from a sneeze isn’t connected to anything behind the eyes. Therefore, there is no pressure that can pop the eyes out of the socket.
4. A Sneeze Produces More Than 40,000 Droplets
Flus spreads quickly because a single sneeze can produce up to 40,000 droplets. These droplets come from both the nose and mouth. So, when people sneeze into their hands, there is a huge chance of some droplets escaping through the fingers. Also, it contaminates the hands with thousands of droplets that can infect others. It’s best to sneeze on the elbow.
5. A Sneeze Travels at a Speed of 100 MPH
Unlike a cough that can reach a speed of 50 MPH, sneezes can reach a speed of up to 100 MPH. This is another reason why it’s dangerous for you to hold in a sneeze. Because of these incredible speeds, it is impossible to sneeze silently.
6. The Average Human Being Sneezes 4 Times a Day
A study showed that more than 95% of people sneeze around four times a day. However, this number increases for people with allergies.
7. Sneezing Can’t Occur When Sleeping
When the body is asleep and has entered the REM cycle, all muscles relax, making sneezing impossible. So, no matter how many irritants enter the nasal cavity when you are asleep, you will not sneeze.
8. Bigger Nostrils Cause Louder Sneezes
The bigger the nostrils a person has, the more volume their sneezes will have. That will result in a bigger echo. Therefore, people who notice their sneezes are louder have their nostrils to “blame.” Also, bigger lugs can cause loud sneezes.
9. Bright Light Can Trigger a Sneeze
About 35% of the population experiences something called a photic sneeze reflex. This is when exposed to light, both artificial and sunlight, triggers a sneeze. People with photic sneeze reflex can force a sneeze by stepping into the sunlight.
10. Sneezing Often Happens More Than Once
Sometimes, one sneeze may be enough to eliminate the irritants in the nasal cavity. However, most of the time, the body kicks into a defense mechanism and triggers more sneezes to eliminate the irritation. This is why a sneeze can sometimes go for two or three runs.
11. Wild Dogs Sneeze to Vote on Whether They Should Go Hunting
In a pack of African Wild Dogs, sneezing is the voting method used to determine whether they will go for a hunt. The more the dogs sneeze, the more likely they will go for a hunt and vice versa.
12. Iguanas are the Sneeziest Animals
Iguanas have a unique digestive system that excretes salt from food. Their bodies have been designed to excrete this salt through sneezing. This is why scientists recognize iguanas as the sneeziest animals on the planet.
13. Insects and Fish Can’t Sneeze
Most animals sneeze just like humans, as can be observed in household pets such as dogs and cats. However, there are a couple of animals, such as insects and fish, who do not sneeze. They do not have similar breathing mechanisms. Therefore, they do not sneeze but have a way of getting irritants out of their system.
14. Some People Sneeze after Eating
Some people sneeze after eating because of a condition called the snatiation reflex, which occurs when the stomach is full after consuming a heavy meal. It happens when the stomach becomes stretched by eating more than usual. Snatiation only affects a select group of people, and it’s not very common.
15. A Sneeze Can Travel for Up to 8 Meters
Depending on the humidity and temperatures, a sneeze can travel a distance of 8 meters, equivalent to 27 feet. This was discovered by Lydia Bourouiba from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These particles can also be suspended in the air for a considerable amount of time.
16. Tickling the Nose Can Trigger a Sneeze
Another experiment by Lydia concluded that a sneeze can be triggered by tickling a person’s nose with a piece of rod-shaped equipment. This has to be done for a couple of seconds.