Why can't I keep my eyes open when I sneeze? If you have this tickely feeling, why does it help to look into the light to bring the sneeze out? And why does touching the nose stop it?
2007-01-25 02:13:33 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
I can answer the relfex to sneeze using light -- it's a well-known phenomenon called "photic sneeze". It has to do with the neurons in the brain that interpret light being geographically close to the sneezing centers. Thus when the light pathways are stimulated, the sneezing center receives extra stimulation.
As far as the other reflexes you mention, I'm not sure about touching the nose stopping my sneezes, but I would theorize that the impulse to close your eyes has to do with the facial nerve and its muscles being forced to contract for the sneeze, making the opposite action of keeping the eyes open difficult or impossible.
2007-01-25 08:28:41 · answer #1 · answered by bacchi_laureate 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't keep your eyes open when you sneeze. While it is impossible for most people to keep their peepers from shutting during the process, some rare folks are capable of it. (By the way, about those not physically wired that way, Muriel Simmons of the British Allergy Foundation said: "If you sneeze while driving at 70 mph, you will travel 300 feet with your eyes closed.")
check out the site they answer a lot of great questions about sneezing
2007-01-25 19:11:01 · answer #2 · answered by lucyQ 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are two things I know about sneezing:
1. You cannot keep your eyes open
2. Your heart stops when you sneeze
As far as the light issue, I've never really thought about it, but it does seem to work.
2007-01-25 10:22:45 · answer #3 · answered by amg503 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋