What happens when people stop sneezing?

Stopping sneezing puts pressure on your body and can break your blood vessels or lose your hearing.

We do not always allow ourselves to sneeze naturally, especially when dating or watching movies outside the theater. The question is whether to stop sneezing is harmful to health?

According to the Men's Health, sneezing is a complex physiological reflex that occurs when you breathe in a substance or particle that causes irritation. Receiving the signal, the brain activates the throat muscles and mobilizes the lungs to release large amounts of air in order to push the irritating agents out.

Dr. Erich Voigt, assistant professor of the Department of Otolaryngology at New York University (USA), said the pressure from sneezing must be "somewhere" anyway. "If the mouth and nose are closed, the pressure will return to the sinuses, nasal cavity or through the throat to the chest," he explained. At this time, due to repression, the pressure block will increase 5-24 times compared to normal.

Picture 1 of What happens when people stop sneezing?
Stopping sneezing can be harmful to the body.(Photo: MH).

Some people believe that rising pressure in the short term cannot bring about risks. However, Dr. Ahmad R. Sedaghat from Harvard University's Department of Otolaryngology confirms the opposite: "When Floyd Mayweather launched his punch, his gloves were only in contact with the opponent for a few moments. The pressure is too great to harm even if it doesn't last long. "

In fact, sneezing repressors not only prevent the body from performing the cleaning function but also endanger the body.

Stopping sneezing, the air and pressure going to the eustachian tube that connects the middle ear and throat is likely to cause you to suffer eardrum damage or be more serious than permanent hearing loss.

Besides, the pressure from sneezing can also break small blood vessels in the eyes, nose, and eardrums. Another consequence is weakened blood vessel walls leading to aneurysm.

However, Dr. Voigt assured that these risks were very rare and often occurred only in individuals who had abnormal blood vessels; both sinus surgery, vascular system, brain or each head, neck, chest injury.

So, every time you want to sneeze, it's best not to repress . For force majeure cases, you can gently rub your nose or lightly press the lip area just below your nose to stimulate other nerves and temporarily "lock" the sneeze.

In addition, instead of covering your hands, sneeze into your elbow or tissue and wash your hands immediately . This will protect you and those around you from germs.

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