SoylentNews

Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/07/the-dangers-of-sneezing-from-ejected-bowels-to-torn-windpipes/ [arstechnica.com]

If you were to envision the kind of accident that would cause a person’s bowels to explode out of their body, you might imagine some sort of gruesome stabbing or grisly car accident. You’d probably never imagine that something as commonplace and harmless as a sneeze would cause this kind of ghastly injury—but that’s exactly what happened [sciepub.com] to a Florida man earlier this month.

The man had recently had abdominal surgery and was suffering from wound dehiscence [nih.gov]—where his surgical scar wasn’t healing properly.
[...]
Sneezing is normally a protective mechanism that keeps potentially harmful things—such as dust, bacteria and viruses – out of our respiratory system. The process is controlled by the so-called “sneezing center” [nih.gov] in the brain’s medulla (which governs autonomic functions, including breathing). It’s activated by the presence of irritants in the lining of the nose and airways [nih.gov], which send impulses to the center.

The response is a closing of your eyes, throat and mouth while your chest muscles contract—compressing your lungs and driving air out of your respiratory system. This forces whatever triggered the response “out” of your system at an impressive speed—up to 15.9m/s [nih.gov] (35mph) in some cases.
[...]
Given all the potential injuries a sneeze can cause, you might think it’s better to hold them in.

But even that isn’t safe to do. In 2023, a Scottish man held in a sneeze by closing his mouth and holding his nose. This resulted in him tearing his windpipe [bmj.com]. By closing off his airways, this allowed the pressure generated by the sneeze to build up inside the respiratory system—which can sometimes be up to 20 times the pressure [sagepub.com] normally seen in the respiratory system. But this energy has to go somewhere, so is typically absorbed by the tissues.

Others have fractured bones of their face [uliege.be] holding in sneezes, damaged their larynx (voice box), and torn the tissues [sciencedirect.com] in their chest that protect the lungs.

Thankfully, there is one injury that would be impossible for a sneeze to cause. Ever been told that if you sneeze with your eyes open, it’ll cause them to pop out? Thankfully, that’s just a tall tale.

Original Submission