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There are a number of benefits to a good sneeze and, as hay fever sweeps the country, many of us will need one.
Medically speaking, a sneeze is a powerful expulsion of air that removes all types of irritants from the nose.
It is usually triggered when a foreign substance, whether a pathogen like a virus or an irritant like pollen or a chemical, enters the nasal passages.
While they are a natural reaction, they can cause a variety of frightening and gruesome injuries including, in extreme circumstances, the intestines falling out of the abdomen.
From broken ribs, burst lungs and even tears to delicate brain tissue, there are many ways you could end up in hospital after a simple sneeze, reveals Professor Adam Taylor, an expert in anatomy at Lancaster University.
A sneeze is a powerful expulsion of air that removes all types of irritants from the nose, not just snot.
intestines exploding
A shocking case study revealed how a man’s intestines exploded after he sneezed.
This 63-year-old Florida man was having breakfast with his wife at a restaurant when a seemingly harmless sneeze caused parts of his lower digestive system to explode through his body.
The man, who had a history of prostate cancer, had recently undergone abdominal surgery after a surgical scar did not heal properly.
On the morning of the horrific incident, he went to the urology clinic, where they assessed that his wound was well healed and removed some surgical staples.
To celebrate, he and his wife went to have breakfast at a restaurant, according to the account of the events written in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports in 2024.
While eating breakfast, the man first sneezed and then began to cough.
She then noticed pain and a “wet feeling” in her lower abdomen.
When he looked down, he discovered several “seats of pink intestine” protruding from his recent surgical site.
He was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery where the insides were placed in his abdomen.
But Professor Taylor warned that anyone who had undergone surgery could risk suffering an equally horrific injury from a simple sneeze.
‘There is an increase in pressure in the chest and abdomen when you sneeze. “If you have an open wound, you run the risk of something coming out due to the pressure that is generated,” he added.
‘Once the scar has closed and healed, the risk is dramatically reduced. “But if they have a wound that’s not completely healed, then it’s a real risk.”
You could break a rib
A single sneeze can be enough to break a rib.
Although rare in young, healthy people, Professor Taylor said the “sheer force” of a sneeze can break bone.
“We typically see rib fractures in older people or people with a specific medical illness,” he said.
People with lower bone density as a result of osteoporosis are a group that has a higher risk of bone fractures in general, including from sneezing.
Professor Taylor added: “When you sneeze, your chest muscles press against your ribs and you pull them inwards with a very sharp, rapid contraction force, the air comes out, catches on the rib and literally causes it to break. ‘
Experts say terrifying and gruesome injuries can occur from an innocent sneeze after a case report revealed a man’s intestines fell out of his abdomen.
burst eardrums
Even holding back a sneeze may not be safe.
Professor Taylor said that because the increase in pressure caused by a sneeze needs to escape somehow, it can damage sensitive tissue on the way out.
He said: ‘When you sneeze, that pressure comes out of your nose and out of your mouth.
Everything you need to know about hay fever
What exactly is hay fever?
Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, a fine dust that comes from plants.
There is more pollen in the air in spring and summer, when plants are flowering.
The reaction usually occurs when pollen comes into contact with a person’s eyes, nose, mouth, or throat.
Symptoms include coughing and sneezing; runny or stuffy nose; red, watery, or itchy eyes; itchy throat, nose, mouth, or ears; headaches and fatigue.
The graphic explains how an allergic reaction, such as sneezing and coughing, to pollen occurs.
Is it getting worse every year?
The severity of hay fever depends on the weather.
Humid, rainy conditions wash away pollen, reducing the number of people who experience symptoms and their severity.
However, dry weather forces pollen into the air, where it can easily enter your eyes and nose.
The pollen season also appears to be lengthening: a US study found that it extended by 30 days between 1990 and 2018.
When are the symptoms worst?
Hay fever symptoms tend to be worse around 11am and 6pm, and this is because the pollen is at nose level.
Pollen is on the ground at the beginning of the day and rises as the grass warms.
Throughout the day, pollen rises very high in the atmosphere.
As the temperature drops throughout the day, the pollen grains sink back to the ground and around 6pm they tend to be at nose level again.
‘If you hold back a sneeze, close your mouth and hold your nose, the inner ear tube connects from the inside of your throat to the outer ear.
“So you’re more likely to burst your eardrums when you hold in a sneeze because that pressure has to escape somewhere.”
Tear of delicate lung tissue
A particularly violent sneeze could even cause tears in the lungs.
In some cases, the lung can herniate through the intercostal muscles between the ribs if there are weak spots.
According to Professor Taylor, this is often a side effect of other health problems such as obesity, lung disease, diabetes or smoking.
There have also been cases where a sneeze tears the delicate tissue of the lungs.
This can happen when air escapes into the space between the chest and lungs, causing the air to compress the lung on one or both sides.
“Our lungs, when we get to the level where we exchange gases during breathing, those layers are very thin,” Professor Taylor said.
He added: “That increase in pressure when the muscle contracts when you sneeze to expel air, can break down those layers, causing air to escape from the lungs into the chest cavity.”
However, those with lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or scarring in the lungs from previous injuries are at higher risk because they already have weak areas in the organ.
Break down the lining of your brain
It’s not just the lungs that can be torn, the brain is also at risk.
There have been reports of people tearing the delicate lining of the brain when sneezing, which can lead to subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is a type of stroke.
Professor Taylor explains: ‘Our brain is surrounded by very thin and delicate layers of tissue. Some of those layers have blood between them.
“Since some of these layers are involved in the return of blood to the veins and heart, an increase in blood pressure can cause them to rupture.”
And that increase in blood pressure occurs when we sneeze, he explained.
‘So if you have a particularly violent sneeze or if you have a weakness in those brain linings, they can potentially break down. This can cause blood to leak and cause instant problems, such as a stroke,” she said.
Will your eyes pop out?
While it’s a myth that sneezing with your eyes open will cause your eyes to pop out, that doesn’t mean you’re completely safe from a sneeze.
Professor Taylor explains that because the eyes are held in place by muscles and nerves and the airways have no connection to the eye sockets, sneezing cannot cause them to come out.
However, closing your eyes when sneezing is an automatic reflex and it is thought that the body does this to prevent expelled germs from entering the eyes.
So you could fight the reflection and keep your eyes open, but it’s probably not a good idea.