What are the consequences of holding back sneezing and why it is good not to
Whether you sneeze into the elbow, into the mask, that you do it with a big sound or protect yourself with two hands, it doesn’t matter, the important thing is that you don’t hold it! Sneezing should not be held back: it is a natural reflex that occurs when an irritant is in contact with the mucous membranes of the nose.
Often, however, due to education or because we find ourselves in a quiet place or in an uncomfortable situation, such as being inside an elevator or on a first date, we hold back the sneeze. Nothing more wrong. You should never hold back the sneeze.
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What is sneezing and why sneezing
Sneezing is a defense mechanism of our organism. It is a physiological reaction that is activated automatically to protect us. In fact, when an irritant comes into contact with the mucous membranes of the upper airways, our body does the most obvious and natural thing: it sends it away.
Our receptors present in the nasal cavities, pharynx and palate when they register a too high level of a given pathogenic substance – such as pollen or dust – sends impulses to the brain which organizes the defense response, or sneezing. This reaction also occurs when there is a cold stimulation on the skin or also occurs when looking at the sun, called a photic reflex.
Of course, sneezing also happens when we have a cold. Once the cold virus has entered our body the mucous membranes of the nose become inflamed and try to get rid of the pathogen.
In all these conditions the trigeminal nerve sends electrical signals to the respiratory center in the brain. Semi-autonomous reflexes are thus triggered. In a few moments all the tissues of the airways contract, it inhales a lot of air, increases internal pressure in the lungs, accelerates the heart rate. The air is then expelled from the nose and mouth in a violent and spasmodic way to one speed that can reach 160 km / h.
Because you don’t have to hold back the sneeze
Blocking the sneeze means do not give vent to all that huge and violent process of physiological response that triggered. Removing the way out of the nose forces that very strong pressurized air that has been created in find another way to escape.
The pressure without being able to explode on the outside risks imploding causing serious damage. There may be rupture in the capillaries of the eye or injuries of various entities to the ear up to rupture of the eardrum or cause sinus problems.
There have been cases where holding back the sneeze has caused tremendous damage that they have done the patient’s life is in danger. It happened – and the news was reported by the British Medical Journal – to a 34-year-old British man who used to hold back sneezing. One day, however, after a couple of hours after the sneeze was held back, he began to experience severe pain in his neck. Transported to the hospital, doctors discovered that he had a hole in front of his trachea, emphysema and a lesion on his pharynx. The air held inside had exploded causing him serious damage. The boy then fortunately recovered after a series of interventions and medical treatment.
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Come and starnutisce
Established that you have to sneeze and not hold back the best way to do it in a polite way is to repair nose and mouth so that the potentially pathogenic particles contained in the droplets of expelled air do not infect others.
Bringing your hands to your nose and mouth protects others from so-called droplets, but your hands then become a vehicle for transmission if you manipulate shared objects such as handles or buttons. It would therefore be more correct to repair the nose and mouth at the time of sneezing with the elbow, instead of with your hands, or sneeze into a paper handkerchief to throw away immediately afterwards and then proceed to sanitize your hands with a special solution.
Is it polite to say health to someone who sneezes?
When someone sneezes is it polite to answer health? Theoretically not or rather according to etiquette it is who sneezes who should apologize to those present. According to some studies, the custom of saying ‘health’ when someone sneezes dates back to the Middle Ages at the time of the plague. Sneezing was one of the first possible symptoms of the ‘black death’ and wishing health was to avoid that the cause of the sneeze was just the terrible disease.
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