Why do we sneeze?

A sneeze is a sudden expulsion of air from within the lungs as a kind of autonomous response by the body of a living being when they are exposed to excessive dust, allergy particles or even bright light. Sneezing is infectious and easily spreads. While all human beings have a reported sneezing habit, some people suffer from chronic sneezing where it becomes difficult to stop and continues over weeks. Of course such cases are rare and occur only in very few cases. Sneezing is always accompanied by a kind of sound that can be well summed up and understood through the word “achoo”.

Most people sneeze when they get some kind of an allergy to something they are exposed to. The body then immediately goes into the mode where it wants to immediately release these foreign particles and that is how air comes out of the lungs. Only the process is sudden, swift and human beings cannot possibly control a sneeze. Histamines are released by the nerve cells within the nose and this serves to irritate the inner skin lining of the nose and as a result we sneeze. It is a nerve function and is completely controlled by our body’s reaction to the atmosphere in general.

Other cases of sneezing occur when an individual is exposed to extensive amounts of sunlight. In such cases the process of sneezing is referred to as the photic sneeze reflex. People who have over eaten or stuffed themselves with a lot of food often go into sneezing mode when the abdomen feels a sense of irritation. But this is more of a genetic problem which needs to be treated. The normal sneezing that takes place in all individuals is more of a reflexive response and therefore it is normal and nothing to be too worried about.

When we are sleeping the body does not sneeze and this has become quite an interesting subject of research for scientists. Here the body’s motor neurons do not get stimulated enough to response such a swift body movement. However people have been known to wake up from their sleep just for the purpose of sneezing. It is always advisable to cover your mouth while sneezing because the virus or germs emitted go back to the air again and can spread over to other people creating some sort of an infection.

It is also interesting that several different cultures have different traditional beliefs attached to sneezing. In English commonly people say “Bless you” to the one who has suffered from a bout of sneezing. Often a sneeze can be considered to be bringer of some kind of good luck in some countries and cultures. In history there was a point of time when people felt their heart stop for a moment during the act of sneeze while ritualistic connections with sneeze have also been made. It was believed that sneezing releases evil souls or souls in general. Such views are most certainly interesting to read but obviously have no basis in truth!