Horrifying reason that you should never hold in a sneeze, according to doctor

30 December 2023 , 15:56

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You should never hold in a sneeze. (Stock Photo) (Image: Getty Images)

Holding in a sneeze can be fatal.

Holding in a sneeze may seem relatively harmless, but it can have some dangerous consequences for your health, doctors have warned after a man ruptured his windpipe - medically known as a tracheal perforation - whilst driving after he attempted to hold one in by keeping his mouth closed and pinching his nose. The injury was so severe that the incident made it to the pages of the British Medical Journal, as the first known instance of someone doing so whilst holding back a sneeze.

The doctors describing the man's injury explained in the journal that the pressure when any of us sneezes normally increases in the upper part of our airways, but when we stop ourselves from letting it out, this can increase by 20 times the usual amount present in a sneeze.

For this man, the injury was incredibly serious and even could have been fatal, the doctors explained, but luckily he recovered fully within a matter of weeks after a trip to the hospital. However, the doctors advised that "Everyone should be advised not to stifle sneezes by pinching the nose while keeping the mouth closed as it can result in tracheal perforation."

This isn't the only impact that holding in a sneeze can have on your health, although it is at the more serious end of the spectrum. The National Post has reported that doctors warned in light of the man's injury that holding your nose and keeping your mouth closed whilst sneezing can lead to perforated eardrums, air becoming trapped in your chest, and even ruptured brain aneurysms.

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"Halting a sneeze via blocking nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre and should be avoided, as it may lead to numerous complications," they warned.

Further, Healthline has explained that sneezing helps stave off illness and injury and provides a "reset" of sorts for your nose, so it's important to let the perfectly natural and useful process happen normally - just make sure you have some tissues in your pocket.

Healthline also explains that holding in your sneezes can also cause middle ear infections, burst blood vessels in the eye, eardrum, or nose, as well as broken ribs and injuries to your diaphragm that can cause your lungs to collapse.

Whatever the setting you are in that makes you feel that sneezing might be inappropriate, it likely is not worth the risk of trying to politely hold it in.

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Emma Mackenzie