Perhaps the notion that colds can be caused by being in a draft or getting feet wet evolved because such exposures provoke sneezing in many people.Įmotional stimuli of the sneeze reflex include fear (which causes the nasal membranes to shrink), frustration, apprehension, grief, anguish and resentment (which cause the membranes to swell). Other triggers of the sneeze reflex include exposure to sunlight or other bright light, strong odors and sudden chills, all of which induce sneezing by stimulating the involuntary nervous system. Irritative sneezing may also be caused or aggravated by hairs in the nose, nasal polyps or a deviated septum. The primary cause is irritation from an allergy, and secondly from the common cold. Stromberg: allergic or irritative sneezing sneezing controlled by the involuntary nervous system psychological or emotional sneezing, and sneezing related to seizures. There are four types of sneezes, according to Dr. Eyes automatically close when you sneeze, which could make driving or operating dangerous equipment hazardous during an attack of sneezing. Sneezing is a primitive reflex, common to most mammals, intended to protect the nose by preventing foreign objects from interfering with the passage of air. The sneezing of babies at birth was considered a good omen by Oliver Wendell Holmes, the 19th-century American physician. A legend about the prophet Elisha holds that when he revived a child (using today's equivalent of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation), the first sign of life was seven sneezes. Sneezing during a prayer is viewed in the Talmud as a sign that God has heard the prayer and will answer it. A sneeze by a storyteller at just the right time was considered a hallmark of truthfulness for an otherwise questionable tale. Neurosurgeons note that when operating on the brain, stimulation of certain areas triggers sneezing in the anesthetized patient.īut many of the old associations with sneezing are happy ones. It is possible, though, that in these cases the sneezing was the result, not the cause, of the stroke or seizure. Sneezing is also reported to be followed occasionally by an epileptic seizure. He soon found two other patients who suffered strokes immediately after sneezing, and has since learned of other similar cases. She had suffered a stroke that ultimately proved fatal. During a taped conversation about her memories of ''the old country,'' she sneezed twice in succession and then fell back in bed. He first observed this association in his 81-year-old mother, who was recovering from an episode of serious high blood pressure. He suggests that occasionally, in someone whose blood vessels are predisposed to trouble, a sneeze may provoke or accompany a stroke. Kavka sees other reasons for continuing to bless the sneezer. Although the plague is no longer a common problem, Dr. The first line refers to a rosy rash, the second to posies carried for protection. Kavka, a Chicago internist, recently noted in The Journal of the American Medical Association, ''No routine comment is invited by someone belching, coughing, groaning, hiccuping, retching, snoring, vomiting, wheezing, or sniffing, even when these symptoms may portend trouble.'' What health significance does a sneeze have that it invariably invokes a blessing when no other human sound or emission is cause for a benevolent remark? As Dr. With the wide prevalence of allergies to tree and grass pollen in the spring, mold spores in the summer, ragweed in the fall and animal hairs and house dust year round, conscientious Jewish grandmothers have done a lot of ear-pulling. Upon the inevitable second sneeze, my left ear would be pulled, accompanied by another blessing, ''zum wachsen un kwelln'' (to grow and thrive). Each time she heard me sneeze, my grandmother would quickly bless me with ''zum leben un gesund'' (to life and health) and pull up on my right ear. AS a child with various minor allergies, I used to sneeze quite often.
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