Sneezing: The Urban Legend

Dear Lowdown:

Is it true that it is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open?

- Ana Schcolnick (Chicago)




Dear Ana:

In short, Ana, it is true that you can’t sneeze with your eyes open in most cases. There are many more myths surrounding the mysterious reflexes of the sneeze, ranging from the crazy (will my eyes pop out if I hold my eyelids open mid-sneeze?) to the mundane (if you sneeze, you have company coming over) to the metaphysical (will a part of my soul fly out if I sneeze?). Humans have been fascinated by the sneezing process for quite some time. It is one of the body’s only outward displays of involuntary movement, an uncontrollable impulse rife with components to theorize about. Asking about the sneezing process shows how much this fascination about sneezing, and all uncontrollable bodily functions for that matter, has permeated human culture, even with the advent of modern science to explain and answer for inquisitive minds.

Sneezing is an automatic reflex, controlled by the so scientifically named “sneeze center” at the back of the brain in response to stimulation of the nasal tissues. It is the body’s natural reaction to a foreign particle entering the nasal cavity, caused by many different irritants. Small, airborne particles like dust, pepper, powders, and pollens cause most sneezes. Nerves in the nasal tissue send messages back to cranial nerves V and VII (located in the center of the brain), which then connect to the “sneeze center”. The “sneeze center” controls the epipharyngeal, intrinsic laryngeal and respiratory muscles, allowing it to signal a lightening fast sneeze response when the body senses an intruder. The brain also sends coordinated motor impulses to the muscles of the abdomen, chest, diaphragm, neck, face, eyelids and various sphincters, as well as the mucus glands and blood vessels of the nose. This process happens uncontrollably, eventually sending gusts out of your nose of at least 100 miles per hour.

Here is the part where it connects to your eyes. The cranial nerves that respond to nasal stimulation are the same ones that control eye movement, linked through a sensory network within the brain. That means that messages from one area cause another to respond, triggering the movement in the eyelids. Stimulation from the original particle travels up one nerve to the brain, then down another to the eyes, triggering a blink. A small percentage of the population can actually sneeze with their eyes open because their nerves are wired a little differently than the rest of us. They don’t face any serious health repercussions. Their eyes definitely stay put in their sockets, contrary to popular belief.

Different types of stimuli cause different types of sneezes, but the response stays the same. Viral infections like the common cold can cause nasal tissue to swell up the same way it does as in a regular sneeze, therefore eliciting the same reaction in the nervous system. Allergens, drug withdrawal, and corticosteroid inhalation (a fancy way of saying taking medicine up your nose) all activate the same irritating reaction and cause a sneeze. Your eyes stay closed through all of them. Even bright lights can trigger sneezes in some “lucky” people. Called photic sneezing, it is an autosomal dominant trait, meaning that one in three people inherit it from their parents. Again, the eyes stay closed.

The better question to ask is why do so many people wonder about sneezing in the first place? Ever since the dawn of humanity, people have tried to come up with creative solutions to problems they cannot explain, coming up with things as far fetched as religion and science. Today, we have urban legends. For every one that turns out to be true, like this one for example, there are a million more gleaned from half truths and pop science and your third cousin’s brother’s best friend’s uncle who this once happened to. Urban legends are important for societies like ours that have a hard time sorting fact from fiction. They help vulnerable young people like you sort out the mysteries of life in whatever way they find most logical, without regard for anything complicated, like, perhaps, the facts. If you started believing every urban legend you heard on the street, especially because this one turned out to be true, then Pop Rocks and Pepsi can most certainly explode your stomach and daddy long legs are definitely the most poisonous spiders out there, they just don’t have mouths big enough to bite humans. Pop science, urban legends, and general misinformation only play into the fear mongering capabilities of the media and the modern age. Manipulation and hysteria are not far behind. When you blindly believe in anything that can be told, seen, or read on the internet, that’s when you run into problems.

Thanks to people who are not complacent with just being told the answer, we still have questions that need complete answers and problems that need solving with more than just what meets the eye. Great questions can combat even the most common of urban legends, giving me faith that society still has the wherewithal to move in a time when not that many people seem to care what the real answer is. Because of your wonderful question, we have now substantiated that myth. We definitely would not have known otherwise. Think about this next time you sneeze Ana. Maybe you’re one of the select few that can sneeze with your eyes open. You never know!


Sincerely,

Allie Tallering





Works Cited
Dowshen, MD, Steven. "What Makes Me Sneeze?" KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. May 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. .

Hatfield, Heather. "Sneezing: Myths, Causes, and Surprising Facts." WebMD - Better Information. Better Health. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. .

Kennard, Jerry. "Sneezing." Men's Health - Health and Fitness Information for Men. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. .

"Myth: Sneezing With Your Eyes Open : Discovery Channel." Discovery Channel : Science, History, Space, Tech, Sharks, News. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. .

"Sneeze Science." Science In Action. 12 Dec. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. .