Usually when you sneeze, you are trying to get rid of an irritation or harmful object in the air passage of your nose. Sneezing is a reflex action, an automatic reaction of your body without your controlling or willing it.
The irritation stimulates the nerve cells in your nose to send a message to your brain, saying, “Get rid of the irritation!” Your brain then sends another message to the breathing muscles of your ribs and diaphragm and “Ah choo!” Out goes the troublesome irritation with the sneeze. But because disease-carrying germs can be expelled with each sneeze, you should cover your mouth and nose.
Droplets from a sneeze have been measured traveling at the amazing speed of over 103 miles per hour!
Related Posts
-
Why Do Some People Sneeze When They Go From Indoors Into Sunlight and What Causes a Photic Sneeze Reflex?
Some people sneeze when they go from dark conditions into very bright light because photons get up their nose, or so we're told. We think that the answer may be fairly simple: when…
-
Why Do We Say God Bless You! After a Sneeze?
Ancient man believed that his breath contained his spirit, or his soul, and that it lived in his head. Therefore, when he sneezed, he feared that he was losing his soul and leaving…
-
Why don’t you sneeze when you are asleep?
Nobody has specifically studied this aspect of sneezing, but there are logical reasons that would explain why people do not sneeze overnight. The reason people sneeze is that the inside of the nose…
-
Can the sun make you sneeze and what causes it?
When the Sun makes you sneeze, it's called a photic sneeze reflex, and it occurs in about a quarter of the population. What happens to convince your nose that the sun is an…
-
Where Did the Expression “Bless you” For After a Sneeze Come From and What Does it Mean?
The ancient Greeks believed a blessing might prevent evil from entering your body during its unguarded state while you sneeze. Our tradition comes from the black plague of 1665, when sneezing was believed…
-
What Makes an Echo?
Sound travels in waves, much the same way ripples of water travel in the ocean. When you make a sound, sound waves travel through the air. You first hear that sound when the…
