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SNEEZING: WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HOLD BACK

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Sneezing is a complex physiological reflex. Sneezing occurs when you breath in an irritating substance or particle which passes through your nostrils into the nose lining.

According to Dale Amanda, M.D., otolaryngologist at ENT Associates of Santa Barbara, the substance getting into your nose lining leads to the release of histamine. This goes ahead to irritate the nerve cells in the nasal lining. This then travels from your trigeminal never to your brain transporting the sensation.

When the signal gets to the brain, it activates throat muscles and makes the lungs release a burst of air. This goes out through the wind pipe. This release of air occurs to push out the particles that are irritating your nose.

“Sneezes are so powerful that [your snot can] travel the dimensions of a room and land up to 6 to 8 meters away,” says Erich Voigt, M.D., clinical associate professor in the department of otolaryngology at NYU Langone Health.

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HOLD BACK YOUR SNEEZE

“If you keep the mouth or nose closed, the generated pressure will back up into your head (sinuses), nasal cavity, or down the throat back into the chest,” says Dr. Voigt.

This means that the pressure associated with the sneeze has to find somewhere to go.

Suppressing the sneeze leads to up to 5 to 23 times pressure increase than the normal sneeze.

The trapped pressure can put your ear at risk when you hold in sneeze. It can travel to the small passageways linked to your throat and middle ear. This can cause the eardrum to rupture.

In more severe cases it can rupture the delicate structures of the inner ear causing permanent hearing loss.

The pressure of holding in a sneeze can also cause you to pop a small blood vessel in your eye, nose, or eardrum.

Holding back sneeze can also cause some brain vessels to rupture.

So, the bottom line still remains, from the above issues, that you should not hold in sneeze.  Holding back from sneezing means your are disrupting the bodies activities and functions. And doing so puts your body at great risks.

To prevent embarrassing sneeze moments, you can try the following:

  • blowing the nose
  • pressing on the region of the lip just below the nose
  • rubbing the nose.

Try also to observe proper sneezing etiquette at all times.

Remember, never hold back your sneeze!!!

SOURCE: http://menshealth.com/health/a19539150/can-holding-in-a-sneeze-kill-you/

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  • Holding back sneeze can also cause some brain vessels to rupture.
    great line awesome article.