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Biological elements
The function of sneezing is to expel mucus containing foreign particles or irritants and cleanse the nasal cavity. During a sneeze, the soft palate and uvula depress while the back of the tongue elevates to partially close the passage to the mouth so that air ejected from the lungs may be expelled through the nose. Because the closing of the mouth is partial, a considerable amount of this air is usually also expelled from the mouth. The force and extent of the expulsion of the air through the nose varies.Overall mechanism
Sneezing typically occurs when foreign particles or sufficient external stimulants pass through the nasal hairs to reach the nasal mucosa. This triggers the release of histamines, which irritate the nerve cells in the nose, resulting in signals being sent to the brain to initiate the sneeze through the trigeminal nerve network. The brain then relates this initial signal, activates the pharyngeal and tracheal muscles and creates a large opening of the nasal and oral cavities, resulting in a powerful release of air and bioparticles. The powerful sneeze is attributed to its involvement of numerous organs of the upper body – it is a reflexive response involving the face, throat, and chest musclesOne stimulus is sudden exposure to bright light, which can cause a photic sneeze reflex.
Sneezing is also triggered by sinus nerve stimulation caused by sinus infection and allergies.
A rarer trigger, observed in some individuals, is the fullness of the stomach immediately after a large meal. This is known as snatiation and is regarded a medical disorder passed along genetically as an autosomal dominant trait.
Sneezing cannot occur during sleep due to REM atonia - a bodily state wherein motor neurons are not stimulated and reflex signals are not relayed to the brain. Sufficient external stimulants, however, may cause a person to wake from their sleep for the purpose of sneezing, although sneezing occurring afterwards would take place when partially awake.[1]
Epidemiology
While generally harmless in healthy individuals, sneezes spread disease through the infectious aerosol droplets, commonly ranging from 0.5 to 5 µm. 40,000 droplets can be produced by a sneeze.[2]Preventive measures
Examples of preventive techniques are: the deep exhalation of the air in the lungs that would otherwise be used in the act of sneezing, holding the breath in while counting to ten, crinkling the nose and keeping the eyes open, or gently pinching the bridge of the nose for several seconds.Proven methods to reduce sneezing generally advocate reducing interaction with irritants, such as keeping pets out of the house to avoid animal dander; ensuring the timely and continuous removal of dirt and dust particles through proper housekeeping; replacing filters for furnaces and air-handling units; air filtration devices and humidifiers; and staying away from industrial and agricultural zones. Some people, however, find sneezes to be pleasurable and would not want to prevent them.[3]
Historic instances and practices
In Ancient Greece, sneezes were believed to be prophetic signs from the gods. In 401 BC, for instance, the Athenian general Xenophon gave speech exhorting his fellow soldiers to fight against the Persians. A soldier underscored his conclusion with a sneeze. Thinking that this sneeze was a favorable sign from the gods, the soldiers were impressed. Another divine moment of sneezing for the Greeks occurs in the story of Odysseus. His waiting wife Penelope, hearing Odysseus may be alive, says that he and his son would take revenge on the suitors if he were to return. At that moment, their son sneezes loudly and Penelope laughs with joy, reassured that it is a sign from the gods (Odyssey 17: 541-550).In Europe, principally around the early Middle Ages, it was believed that one's life was in fact tied to one's breath - a belief reflected in the word "expire" (originally meaning "to exhale") gaining the additional meaning of "to come to an end" or "to die". This connection, coupled with the significant amount of breath expelled from the body during a sneeze, had likely[citation needed] led people to believe that sneezing could easily be fatal. This theory, if proven conclusively, could in turn explain the reasoning behind the traditional "God bless you" response to a sneeze, the origins of which are currently unclear. (see "Traditional Responses To A Sneeze" below for alternative explanations). Sir Raymond Henry Payne Crawfurd, for instance, the late registrar[disambiguation needed] of the Royal College of Physicians, in his 1909 book "The Last Days of Charles II", states that, when the controversial monarch was on his deathbed, his medical attendants administered a concoction of cowslips and extract of ammonia to promote sneezing.[4] However, it is not known if this promotion of sneezing was done to hasten his death (as coup de grace), or as an ultimate attempt at treatment.
In certain parts of Eastern Asia, particularly in Chinese culture, Japanese culture and Vietnamese culture, a sneeze without an obvious cause was generally perceived as a sign that someone was talking about the sneezer at that very moment. This can be seen in the Book of Songs (a collection of Chinese poems)[5] in ancient China as early as 1000 BC, and this belief is still depicted in present-day manga and anime. In China, Vietnam and Japan, for instance, there is a superstition that if talking behind someone's back causes the person being talked about to sneeze; as such, the sneezer can tell if something good is being said (one sneeze), something bad is being said (two sneezes in a row), even if someone is in love with them (three sneezes in a row) or if this is a sign that they are about to catch a cold (multiple sneezes).
Parallel beliefs are known to exist around the world, particularly in contemporary Greek, Slavic, Celtic, English, French, and Indian cultures. Similarly, in Nepal, sneezers are believed to be remembered by someone at that particular moment.
In Indian culture, especially in northern parts of India, and also in Iran, it has been a common superstition that a sneeze taking place before the start of any work was a sign of impending bad interruption. It was thus customary to pause in order to drink water or break any work rhythm before resuming the job at hand in order to prevent any misfortune from occurring.
In Pakistani Culture, there is a common superstition, that sneezing occurs when someone thinks fondly of them, mainly a wife.
Contrarily, in Polish Culture, especially in what the Poles have known to be their Borderlands, the Kresy, a popular belief persists that sneezes may be an inauspicious sign that one's mother-in-law speaks ill of their son-in-law at that moment. The same phenomenon is thought to correspond to daughters-in-law and their mothers-in-law. As with other Catholic countries, such as Mexico, Italy, or Ireland, the remnants of pagan culture are fostered in Polish peasant idiosyncratic superstitions.
The practice among Islamic culture, in turn, has largely been based on various Prophetic traditions and the teachings of Muhammad. An example of this is Al-Bukhaari's narrations from Abu Hurayrah that the Islamic prophet once said:
When one of you sneezes, let him say, "Al-hamdu-Lillah" (Praise be to Allah), and let his brother or companion say to him, "Yarhamuk Allah" (May Allah have mercy on you). If he says, "Yarhamuk-Allah", then let [the sneezer] say, "Yahdeekum Allah wa yuslihu baalakum" (May Allah guide you and rectify your condition).
Traditional responses to a sneeze
Main article: Responses to sneezing
In English-speaking countries, the common verbal response to another person's sneeze is "Bless You" or in the United States the much less common "Gesundheit" (the German word for "good health"). There are several proposed origins for the use "Bless you" in the context of sneezing:- Various alleged but conflicting superstitions relating the sneeze to evil spirits. This includes beliefs that a sneeze could release one's soul, thus leading to its possible capture by lurking evil spirits (as explained in the "Historic instances and practices" section above), or that the evil spirits could enter the body though the open mouth of a sneezing individual, or that the individual is sneezing out sins or evil spirits which had taken residence within the body and is thus in need of the blessing to prevent the exorcised spirits from re-entering the body. Some proponents of this last theory have further suggested that it was bad luck to open the mouth again to thank the person who uttered "Bless you" for fear of circumventing the original purpose of the blessing.[citation needed]
- Some say it came into use during the plague pandemics of the 14th century. Blessing the individual after showing such a symptom was thought to prevent possible impending death due to the lethal disease.
- In Renaissance times a superstition was formed claiming one's heart stopped for a very brief moment during the sneeze, saying bless you was a sign of prayer that the heart wouldn't fail possibly the devil's doing by sending demons to clasp the heart in the body's moment of shock from the sneeze.
- As of 2011, it has become commonplace in some areas of the southern United States for coworkers to respond to sneezes with a pre-planned routine, in which Coworker 1 says, "He passes it to the man," and Coworker 2 responds: "And boom goes the dynamite."
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