2006-07-22 02:32:33 · 7 answers · asked by vishvesh 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Photic sneeze reflex (also referred to as sun sneezing, photogenic sneezing, or whimsically called ACHOO, a backronym for Autosomal dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst) is a medical condition by which people exposed to bright light sneeze. The photic sneeze reflex can also cause one to sneeze many times consecutively. The condition occurs in 17% to 25% of humans with more common occurrence in Caucasians than other human races. The condition is passed along genetically as an autosomal dominant trait.
2006-07-22 02:37:05 · answer #1 · answered by cybrog 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are thinking this is a matter of idle curiosity? Au contraire--it's a threat to our national security.
Listen to this frightening headline: "The photic sneeze reflex as a risk factor to combat pilots," Military Medicine, Breitenbach et al, 1993.
"Photic sneeze reflex" is the medical term for what you've got. Researchers fear they'll get a guy like you in a screaming dogfight, you break through the clouds into bright sunlight, you sneeze, your eyes snap shut, and the next thing you know they're picking you up off the landscape with a rake.
Photic sneeze reflex occurs in something like one-sixth to one-quarter of the population. It occurs more often in Caucasians than Afro-Americans or Orientals.
According to a Johns Hopkins medic named Stephen Peroutka, the trait is passed along genetically, with a 50 percent chance of inheritance.
Researchers in Sweden found that out of 460 subjects, 24 percent sneezed in bright light, and 40 percent had at least one sneezing parent.
Sixty-four percent of children with one sneezing parent were themselves sneezers, but two nonsneezers never produced a sneezer. (Isn't it amazing how I can make these things so easy to understand?)
Nobody's exactly sure what causes photic sneeze reflex. I see here in one of the journals we have an impressive discussion of the role of the trigeminal nerve nucleus.
Basically what this is saying is that you've got a lot of nerves crammed together in the front of your head, and maybe there can can be leakage of sorts from one nerve pathway to another. So perhaps the reflex is just a case of congenitally crossed signals.
At this point nobody's prepared to go in there with a pliers and fix it. So your best bet is to wear sunglasses and stay out of fighter jets.
2006-07-22 11:49:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This used to happen to my father whenever he got
the sun in his eyes. We used to tease him about
it. Then it began to happen to me as I got older.
However by carefully paying attention to what
happened I discovered that in bright light I always
crinkled up my face and squinted my eyes. This
caused a tickling of my nose which resulted in
sneezing. I found that if I could avoid the squinting
and wrinkling I didn't sneeze.
2006-07-24 04:29:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sudden brightness makes our nose hairs stand, which in turn tickles the nose, which causes the sneeze.
2006-07-22 02:36:09 · answer #4 · answered by Teacher M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
happens to me, but only by natural light, damn you sun and your life/sneeze giving powers.
2006-07-22 02:36:47 · answer #5 · answered by hunterorprey 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In one of my classes we talked about how it causes an overload of some kind of sensors.
2006-07-22 19:25:19 · answer #6 · answered by Crushgal 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That only happend to some people.
2006-07-22 02:35:38 · answer #7 · answered by Bill 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋