Suppressing a sneeze can be dangerous, doctors warn

PARIS: Stifling a sneeze can rupture your throat, burst an ear drum, or pop a blood vessel in your brain, researchers warned Tuesday. Many people, when they feel a sneeze coming on, block all the exits, essentially swallowing the sneeze´s explosive force.

Just how dangerous this can be was illustrated when a 34-year-old man showed up at the emergency service of a hospital in Leicester, England recently, with a swollen neck and in extreme pain. "The patient described a popping sensation in his neck after he tried to halt a sneeze by pinching the nose and holding his mouth closed," doctors detailed in a study published in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports.

A CAT scan confirmed what they suspected, the force of the suppressed sneeze had ruptured and torn open the back of the throat. The man, who could barely swallow or talk, was admitted to hospital, where he was tube-fed and given intravenous antibiotics until the swelling and pain subsided. He was discharged after a week.

"Halting sneezing via blocking the nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre, and should be avoided," the doctors concluded. In rare cases, stifling a sneeze has led to a condition in which air gets trapped between the lungs.