PHOTIC SNEEZE: Crossed nerve signals in the brain may be the reason some people sneeze when exposed to a sudden bright light.
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Have you ever emerged from a matinee movie, squinted into the sudden burst of sunlight and sneezed uncontrollably? Up to a third of the population will answer this question with an emphatic "Yes!" (whereas nearly everyone else scratches their head in confusion). Sneezing as the result of being exposed to a bright light—known as the photic sneeze reflex—is a genetic quirk that is still unexplained by science, even though it has intrigued some of history's greatest minds.
Aristotle mused about why one sneezes more after looking at the sun in The Book of Problems: "Why does the heat of the sun provoke sneezing?" He surmised that the heat of the sun on the nose was probably responsible.
Some 2 ,000 years later, in the early 17th century, English philosopher Francis Bacon neatly refuted that idea by stepping into the sun with his eyes closed—the heat was still there, but the sneeze was not (a compact demonstration of the fledgling scientific method). Bacon's best guess was that the sun's light made the eyes water, and then that moisture ("braine humour," literally) seeped into and irritated the nose.
Humours aside, Bacon's moisture hypothesis seemed quite reasonable until our modern understanding of physiology made it clear that the sneeze happens too quickly after light exposure to be the result of the comparatively sluggish tear ducts. So neurology steps in: Most experts now agree that crossed wires in the brain are probably responsible for the photic sneeze reflex.
A sneeze is usually triggered by an irritation in the nose, which is sensed by the trigeminal nerve, a cranial nerve responsible for facial sensation and motor control. This nerve is in close proximity to the optic nerve, which senses, for example, a sudden flood of light entering the retina. As the optic nerve fires to signal the brain to constrict the pupils, the theory goes, some of the electrical signal is sensed by the trigeminal nerve and mistaken by the brain as an irritant in the nose. Hence, a sneeze.
But because this harmless (albeit potentially embarrassing) phenomenon doesn't seem to be linked with any other medical condition, scientific study of the subject has been scarce. Research has done little more than document its existence and attempt to gauge its prevalence. No rigorous studies exist, but informal surveys peg 10 to 35 percent of the population as photic sneezers. A study in the 1960s showed that the trait is autosomal-dominant—the gene is neither on the X nor Y chromosome and only one copy of the gene has to be present for the trait to be expressed—so if one parent sneezes when they look at a bright light, about half of his or her children will, too.
The genetic culprit remains unidentified, but scientists are starting to take an interest in trying to find out. "I think it's worth doing," says Louis Ptácek, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Ptácek studies episodic disorders such as epilepsy and migraine headaches, and he believes that investigating the photic sneeze reflex could shed light on their related neurology.
Epileptic seizures are sometimes triggered by flashing lights and migraine headaches are often accompanied by photophobia. "If we could find a gene that causes photic sneezing, we could study that gene and we might learn something about the visual pathway and some of these other reflex phenomena," Ptácek says.
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79 Comments
Add CommentBased on the fact that this phenomenon has been narrowed down to the relationship between the optical nerve and the trigeminal nerve, I wonder if the size of the burst in the optical nerve can be correlated to its propensity to trigger the trigeminal nerve to make us sneeze. With that being said, I am wondering if people with better eyesight have stronger "bursts" in their optical nerve, and hence a stronger likelihood to trigger the trigenimal nerve. Are people with better eyesight more likely to have photic sneeze reflex? Has this ever been studied?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLost Sneeze: Imagine a sneeze is about to come but it is lost ... because may be it was not that intense a feeling.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn this situation when sneeze is about to come if you look at a light source (sun, tube light or bulbs) the weak sneeze come more emphatically.
Heat induced Sneeze: When you step out from a cold room to a open space with lots of Sunlight, the temperature difference and light together can start a sneeze chain reaction.
I feel these two conditions often, still searching for a rational reasons to these phenomenons.
And I though it was just a mere coincidence that half of my family would sneeze by staring directly to the mid-day sun...On a serious note: If you suggest that the "photic sneeze syndrome" could be due to a genetic phenomenon, how come that some people being sick would sneeze by seeing intense light, when they normally would not? Could it somehow be "developed"?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis articles begs the question:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this'Can wearing sunglasses at night prevent seizures?'
Any takers?
Bob
I assumed that photic sneezes were caused by squinting and using the muscles that crinkle your nose -- either the crinkled nose causes surfaces to brush the nerves that trigger sneezes, or perhaps it squeezes tears already in the tear ducts out into the nasal area. I think either could trigger an immediate sneeze.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSome people might not experience photic sneezes either because they don't crinkle their nose when they squint from bright light, or because their nasal area isn't arranged in a way that triggers the sneeze.
Different folks, differnet reasons. Personally, when I become aroused, even subconsciously, I sneeze three times.AQnd thats more'n you need to know.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLooking at the sun makes you sneeze becaus it dialates the eyes very quickly and this causes a sneeze. It will also work if you look at a bright light....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisP. Ciuppa
I always thought that this was a family trait because many family members respond in a similiar matter. I thought that it was a reaction to the dust particles in the air that were excited by a more concentrate sun beam.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHmm, that's odd, my baby daughter has it, no doubt, bright light = sneeze. But niether I nor my husband sneeze at bright lights. And niether of my parents do either. I do get migraines though.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIts not so much looking at the sun, with me it seems to be the light entering the nostril. It works with any strong light, eyes closed or open, sunglasses or not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAuthor Karen Schrock here -- I want to reply to a couple of these comments and also make a correction.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI mistakenly oversimplified the genetics involved when I wrote, "the trait is autosomal-dominant—the gene is neither on the X nor Y chromosome and only one copy of the gene has to be present for the trait to be expressed—so if one parent sneezes when they look at a bright light, about half of his or her children will, too."
If the parent who is a photic sneezer has only one copy of the gene, this is true. If a parent who sneezes has two copies of the gene, all of his or her children should be sneezers. And if both parents are sneezers and they both have one copy of the gene, each kid has a 75% chance of having the photic sneeze reflex.
Now, on to the fun stuff... Jables, your question about good eyesight is interesting. As far as I can tell, nobody has studied that. However, a somewhat related [url http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1042271]paper[/url] from 1990 describes patients with neuropathic cystinosis, a metabolic disorder that causes the nonprotein amino acid cystine to accumulate in cells, who experienced an unusual number of light-induced sneezes during an eye examination. The researchers offer several hypotheses about why the crystal deposits on their corneas might have caused the photic sneeze reaction.
water_moon: there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that babies are far more likely to be photic sneezers than adults are, and that many babies sneeze in response to light even though neither parent does. There isn't any research on the topic, but I have an idea about why a baby might be a photic sneezer even if the parents are not. Babies are born with many more synaptic connections in their brains than adults have, and as they grow up these synapses are pruned so that only the essential ones remain and are strengthened. It could be that the gene for photic sneezing actually prevents some pre-existing connections from being destroyed, so that the light-reacting and sneeze-producing parts of the brain remain wired together (whereas in most people, these connections are severed during childhood). This idea is very similar to the current theory of the origin of [url http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0003014B-9D06-1E8F-8EA5809EC5880000]synesthesia[/url], a sensory mix-up that causes some people to "taste sounds" or "hear shapes."
The Bible says once Israel comes into being that a generation, 70 years, would not "pass" until all the signs of Christs' return takes place. These include, eclipses, grand earthquakes, 100 lb hail--megacryometeors--a star falling into our ocean--Sedna, our waters turning to blood, becoming bitter--wormwood--and Christ return- shining brighter than the sun with a celestial city the size of America coming out of the heavens on a cloud, with fire going before him. "The stars will go black"--supernova, the moon turn "red"--lunar eclipses and our sun to go "dark"-- "before that great and notable day". Get to know the invisible Jesus now before its too late, you will meet him face to face in all his glory=light-- & power=fire. The Bible says God is light and their is no darkness in Him at all. The black hole model can not work. See GRB060614. Israel is 60 years old. Revelations predicts a final 7 years for Earth after we see these celestial signs. The seas will be on fire, the heavens melt.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat I hate about this reflex, is when the sneeze DOESN'T come. My eyes squint, my nose 'puckers' up and gets tingly, and then... and then... no sneeze! &apo;s
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis has happened to me since I was a teen. No one in my family does this as far as I know. The sun or any bright light. Some times if a sneeze in general is coming on but not coming out, I can look upward and face my nostrils towards most lights and egt the sneeze to go. For the longest time, I thought I was the only one, until I think it was an eye doctor several years back who commented on this very same thing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYup, been doing since I was a child, on purpose.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI believe shining a bright light up the nose is likely to cause one to sneeze; so is tilting the nostrils so the sun shines directly up them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBelieve allowing sun to shine up nose directly or with a mirror can trigger sneezing; so can shining a focused light beam up the nose.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am a migraineur and episodes are typically heralded by a fit of sneezing or a single sneeze. These sneezes are palpably different from other sneezes: they feel convulsive and as if they come from another "place" than regular sneezing. I am not aware of light exposure as a factor. It might be interesting/useful to study this promdromal feature in the larger migraine population-- which is huge.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnnyeD,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCretin, learn how to spell. Those predictions expired 2008-33+4-30 years ago; the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem was even also later than GIiberish said. The profesy is dead.
http://google.com/groups?q=Autymn+fast-food
I have a theory that the sneeze reflex may have an evolutionary basis - perhaps originating with our marine mammalian relatives- perhaps on rising to the surface, with a bright light exposure, a sneeze allows the expulsion of fluid so that the first breath enhales fresh air.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDanica
I have a theory about sun sneezing which so far I've never heard before. It's called Borba's Theory, after myself. Sneezing forces the eyes to close, perhaps to keep them from popping out of the skull during the process? Perhaps the sun sneeze has its origins as a way of protecting the eyes from damage to the suns rays, by forcing the eyes closed? Someone please test this theory and let me know the what you think. You can email me at jgb26@sbcglobal.net
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMythbusters
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKaren Schrocks article on photic sneezers may explain how but doesnt even ask why it might be an evolutionary advantage. Having worked in dusty woodshops making musical instruments for many years, the answer is obvious to me and its not about crossed wires .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisModern man is equipped with stone age reflexes and responses, some of which are very useful in urban living. Youre in the cave and its dusty or dank and moldy. You dont feel like breathing too much, not to mention sneezing, which would just stir up dust and mold. Keep in mind, for every exhalation there must (eventually) be an inhalation. Your body knows to tolerate the impurities in the air while in the cave, as choices are limited.
Now youre crawling up and out of the earthy confinement at last you see the sun, or at least some bright open sky. Time to forcefully eject all accumulated debris, but you dont have to learn this routine. Your body does it nicely for you.
It is amusing being a photic sneezer.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou think "doesn't everyone", others say "what?".
If you have a tickle in your nose (the kind sneezing can help), I am able to look at a bare light bulb (look down on a low table lamp for example) to elicit the sneeze. Handy skill to have, at times, haha.
Why do we sneeze when looking into the sun? In order to try to find an answer to such questions, it is always good to ask if the phenomenon may have a pretty good reason to be there. A possible reason for this sneezing reflex is not hard to find in this case: Looking into the sum may relatively quickly permanently damage your vision. A sneeze _quickly_ keeps you from sungazing and distracts you as well. The retina does not relay feeling of pain, so the warning system (normally pain) must work differently in this case. Without the reflex, one might be tempted to prolonged sungazing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow, after having put up a seemingly good reason for the phenomenon to exist, one should try to test it againt further knowledge. Human babies normally lie much on their backs, as opposed to other species. They are therefore very prone to be hurt in their eyes by the sun. Do they have a very strong reaction? Yes, this discussion states so. Does the reflex trigger only by very bright light? Yes./No more room.
A negative anwer would kill the hypothesis. The positive answer reinforces the thought; only in very bright light there is a danger.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat do we have more? Evolution would let the seers propagate better than the blind. The reaction is fast and it turns the view instantly off and then downwards. A nice fit. A good reason. Sounds good. Sounds better than nerve signal leakage, as if the body were not in control over its signalling.
KS
I'm so glad researchers are considering a study on this. I have the Photic Sneeze Reflex from my father. Along with my sister and paternal cousin, our children have it. We each have two kids and one of each pair have it. My brother doesn't have it, but his son does. We are a family of sneezers. I'd love to learn more about it!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBeing one of these 'lucky' people, I've always wondered why it happens. Based on experience, I think sunlight amplifies the likelihood of a sneeze when a minor irritation is present - something not strong enough in and of itself to cause a sneeze yet. Looking at the bright sunlight overwhelms the mental distractions that overpower the nascent sneeze keeping it quiescent, and accelerate it to fruition. Actually, any bright light and a 'head up' posture will do the trick. I often use this to trigger a sneeze that is being annoyingly reticent.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find this article very interesting. I have very bad allergies. When I was a kid and occasionally a sneeze would get 'stuck', my mom would always say "Look up at the sun" and I'd sneeze. I always wrote it off as an old wives tale. But it worked...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm going on 67 years old, and have been sneezing at least three times upon entering sunlight since as far back as I can remember. About 16 years ago the number of sneezes have increased, at times, to a record high of 14 in a row. I don't mind this, but it's spooky when I'm driving an automobile. Neither one of my parents did this, nor any of my grandparants. Can't say anything further back than that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy father, myself and 3 of my 4 kids sneeze twice when we first go out in the sun. When the kids and I visited Sea World in San Diego we all sneezed a couple of times when we left the Penguin exhibit. It was noticable enough to others that they commented "Are you all allergic to penguins?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn my case, sudden novel or attractive visual stimuli will cause the same sneeze reaction that sudden bright sunlight will.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFinally, others who are lucky enough to have this occurrance! Myself, I like to sneeze. I think it feels pretty good. My two sons do this too. Women I've been with in the past think i'm silly, or just kinda wierd. They think I'm imagining it. EVERY time I come into bright light, or even if I think I might sneeze, I can look up,(sometimes at the ceiling, or even a white sheet of paper!) and have a good one. I might be weird, but it's almost like a mini orgasm. I just hate spilling my coffee, when I go outside!!! Oh well, I don't mind being affected with this. There's much worse things out there. Brian B. Missouri.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy is it if so many folk have this little phenomenon, I have never met anyone other than family with it? Myself, my Mother, my Sister, my eldest maternal cousin all do. I do not know of my Father, he died when I was very young, or his family. My Mother has always called it "The Vampyre Reaction," though I never ran into any writings on it until recently. And others always thought we were just making it up. - James, Ponca City, Okla.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI liked the idea of the optic nerve sending message that are interpreted also by the trigeminal nerve, until I realised that its just the sun that seems to have this effect.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne can look at any bright light source, even an ark weld occurring (don't recommend it) and the iris will close down every bit as quickly, yet noe sneeze or sensation to do so.
So is there a quality of light in sunlight that plays a more important role. Could it be UV? UV is invisible to us but in large amounts cause damage to our eyes. Is this a defense mechanism to protect us from UV rays?
Sneezing does cause us to close our eyes involuntarily and tilt our heads down. (Try sneezing looking up with your eyes open!) Kevin
I wonder if the size of the burst in the optical nerve can be correlated to its propensity to trigger the trigeminal nerve to make us sneeze. With that being said, I am wondering if people with better eyesight have stronger "bursts" in their optical nerve, and hence a stronger likelihood to trigger the trigenimal nerve. Are people with better eyesight more likely to have photic sneeze reflex? Has this ever been studied?
This is probably a "gotcha" put-on that someone pulled on me - what the hey;, I'm easy, albeit it sounds good ...... Some scientists (?) surmise that sun sneezing goes back to the caveman days where some (obviously not all) of our prehistoric ancestors lived in caves. Caves as in dank, dark and moldy. Because of illnesses caused by mold over time, the body evolved a defense mechanism.....sneezing upon leaving the cave (looking at the bright sun) to clear mold from the upper respiratory area. Sound possible??? Snopes??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am one of those people who sneeze at bright lights the sun etc... And I do not crinkle my nose.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf I stare directly at almost any light long enough I will sneeze.
I've always thought that it had something to do with preventing people from going blind? I've heard that babies sneeze in bright sun because their eyes are not fully developed and sneezing prevents blindness.
I don't think it would be any thing to do with cross wiring of the brain or anything abnormal.
I think simply some peoples eyes are more sensitive than others...I tend to think like oakscrty up there..."it is god's design to protect the eyes"
what do you say when you sneeze, bless you.. the sneezing is because the only man who can look into the sun with out going blind is the son of god. Revelations ch.2. an angelic figure is the main reason for the sneezing, the reason is because that individual is of of good nature. it is a marking by God. Rev.2 18-19 these are the words of god whose eyes are that of flaming fire and feet like burnished bronze. Bless you all
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou can e mail me a comment if you'd like at JP_O_22@yahoo.com
what do you say when you sneeze, bless you.. the sneezing is because the only man who can look into the sun with out going blind is the son of god. Revelations ch.2. an angelic figure is the main reason for the sneezing, the reason is because that individual is of of good nature. it is a marking by God. Rev.2 18-19 these are the words of god whose eyes are that of flaming fire and feet like burnished bronze. Bless you all
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou can e mail me a comment if you'd like at JP_O_22@yahoo.com
I have not done any study but can tell you from personal experiance (and a vision of 20/200 on both eyes) that how well you can see has nothing to do with it. I have the reflex and can sneeze multiple times but strangely only with sunlight.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's funny because only until just recently, I never had this phenomenon occur ever in my childhood. Only now, being a young adult, does this happen to me and I still don't have an answer!! Until then, if I ever feel all plugged up, stare at the sun!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have question to all of you who sneeze at sun. I have problem because
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisafter I sneeze I see tiny colorfull bubless, right before my eyes. It is not a joke is this normal?
Is any of you can see them? These bubless are really beautiful, like a rainbow, but annoying.I told about that to my family they think that I been joking.
Are there any more like me? Please help.
Please help Im sun sneezer since I can remember, but recently I can see
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscolorfull bubles right before my eyes those are tiny,red,blue,golden,green
tiny beautiful bubles,they just float there upwards til they dissapear.
AmI going crazy? Help. My family do not believe me.
Enter Your Comment Here.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm a sun sneezer too but my sneezes are more complex. Besides that, I sneeze at least 4 times in a row, everytime, and probably 4 or 5 times a day for no reason at all. When I have a daily routine, I find myself sneezing on a schedule at nearly the same times everyday. I feel like I'm a chronic sneezer and everyone just gives up on saying "bless you" after they know me for more than a few hours :) And a neat thing too, I know I'm getting a cold or have allergies when I only sneeze once instead of 7 times in a row, it's my early detection system and never fails.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo prevent sun sneezes... when I walk outside I know it's coming and I squint intensly until my eyes can adjust to the brightness unless its a really bright day then I'm just delaying the inevitable.
I sneeze from the sun all the time, usually 4 times.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have the sam thing, i usually sneeze 4 times exactly when i look at the sun or any bright light.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think this question has been answered by meteorologists some time ago. The sun's UV rays bounce off pavement (sun, rocks, buildings, etc.) and up your nose, irritating the mucous membrane, causing you to sneeze. It seems to work for me. I don't tend to sneeze if I step out onto grass, but coming out of a downtown building into glaring sunlight causes me to sneeze.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy four year old son and I both have this condition, what my wife calls "photo-sneezativity". The worst is coming out of movie theatres - the dark to the light, so I wouldn't be surprised that a trigger thats related to pupil dilation is part of the cause. For the record, I'm extremely nearsighted, always have been. My son is either 20/40, or stubborn, he refused to read past a certain point on the eye chart.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey there i recently had this discussion with a few friends of mine, many of these friends scatch there heads and never had heard of bright lights etc trigging sneezing!! one thing i did notice is that the people with dark eyes e.g brown eyes had no idea about this and it had never happened to them.But my friends with blue eyes, lighter coloured eyes recongnised this to be true.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI guess in my my thoughts photic sneeze reflex seems to only happen to people with lighter coloured pigments in there eyes!!??
Just throwing it out there.
Myles Bartlett
Hey there i recently had this discussion with a few friends of mine, many of these friends scatch there heads and never had heard of bright lights etc trigging sneezing!! one thing i did notice is that the people with dark eyes e.g brown eyes had no idea about this and it had never happened to them.But my friends with blue eyes, lighter coloured eyes recongnised this to be true.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI guess in my my thoughts photic sneeze reflex seems to only happen to people with lighter coloured pigments in there eyes!!??
Just throwing it out there.
Myles Bartlett
You're not crazy, I see the tiny bubbles before my eyes too. I also see them when I have a really bad migraine and I also have this photic sneeze reflex thing, always have. I sneeze in bright sun light or by looking directly at a light bulb, just as others have said. I always akined the "bubbles" as sort of the same thing as seeing stars when you are dizzy or about to pass out, as it also happens if I stand up real fast and get dizzy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat is interesting, because I have blue eyes, so maybe you are right about that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis discussion is fascinating. For the record, I have had the photic sneeze reflex since I can remember. I have 20/20 vision, my eyes are dark brown in color, and neither of my parents or sister have this disorder. Also, I suffer from congenital anosmia, which is a lack of smell since birth. I cannot smell and have not smelled anything, ever. Perhaps these two are related, perhaps not. In any event, I don't really miss what I never had, and being able to "call" a sneeze before it happens is kind of cool...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI experience this, but my brothers and parents do not. Like a0206807, I had always assumed that it had something to do with squinting when encountering bright light. However, to respond to Jables, I have horrible eyesight and hate wearing my glasses, I have experienced no correlation between sneezing frequency or intensity on days that I am with or without my glasses. Another thing to note is that it happens with florescent lights too, like when I walk into a department store at night. When I was around twelve I discussed this with my family and friends and no one else admitted to this condition. So I have a hard time believing that this is genetic, or that 10+ percent of the population experiences it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishmmm.. I think its because i am a decedent from a vampire and its my sun allergy
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHMMM, I still think its because i am a decedent from a vampire and its a sunlight allergy
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am a sun sneeezer as well s my father. My youngest son aslo has it. The most common theme I can tell is that we all have blue eyes. The othere members of the family who do not have it have brown or hazel eyes.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI always thought I was the only one that does this...or i mean, maybe there's a few of us. Reason why i said this is coz there's no one in my family who does this. I've been doing this eversince i was a little kid and now that i am almost 30. One time i was trying to sneeze and went out of the humvee(I'm in the army by the way) i was resting by that time, my friend told me that I am weird coz he never saw anybody do that. I am so dependent for the sun to "help" me sneeze. It's really weird to say that at night time, it is hard for me to sneeze and staring at a bright light won't help me to sneeze....just the sun. And seeing this article made me think that this would answer my question. It didn't coz it's still unknown why this thing happens.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi wonder the same thing. My dad has VERY good distance eyesight. Probably better than most. And he has very sensitive eyes as well (headaches if he doesn't wear sunglasses in the sun). I have sensitive eyes in that if I try to focus my eyes on something at a distance for too long they will start to water uncontrollably. I am also a photic sneezer. hmmmmm..
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI dunno....as I said in my other post, my dad and I are both photic sneezers, have sensitive eyes, and they are brown. It is just weird the other symptoms we have. He has sensitive eyes in that he gets headaches/migraines very easily with too much sunlight. My eyes water VERY easily if I focus on an object/word/person far away. He has VERY good distance vision and my distance vision is poor (however, the doc said he thinks I just have trouble focusing)...hmmmmm
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't know if this was suggested already, but sneezing in general causes the eyes to involuntarily close, as well as other affects. Exposing unadjusted eyes to an intense light may cause us to sneeze, thus closing our eyes so as to prevent immediate damage while giving time for the eyes to adjust.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt may be that in certain individuals their eyes adjust to light more slowly, and to compensate for this underdevelopment the brain uses a sneeze to briefly suspend the interface.
This seems far-fetched, but it is not impractical.
My maternal grandmother had epilepsy, I have MS, and my mother, sister, and I all have the photic sneeze reflex.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's amusing to read people's various theories. Amusing mostly when they come to conclusions based on very limited information or very small sample groups. I don't have the answer to this riddle, but I can add my facts & thoeries to the pool of data:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this~ Eye color doesn't matter
~ Quality of eyesight doesn't matter
~ Has nothing directly to do with tilting head back.
~ Has nothing to do with sunlight nor UV on the membranes inside the nose.
~ It's not about UV. Nor the sun. As one other poster mentioned, I can trigger it by concentrating on various "bright" sources. If I focus, I can sneeze from a toatally overcast cloudy sky if the ambient light is strong enough. I can sneeze from staring at a bright sheet of white paper, or the white area of a computer screen, or television. But... I need to bring those objects very close to my eyes.. inches... in order to trigger the reflex. In those cases, the brightness needs to fill my entire field of view. I can also trigger it on the tiniest of lightbulbs (ie x-mas tree light) if I bring it close enough to my eyeball; any color bulb.
~ In order to help the reflex to trigger, I open my eyes wider... as wide as possible.
~ I think it's a two part process. Has nothing to do with crinkling the nose. But... Crinkling the nose and/or flaring the nostrils is a byproduct of what is actually happening: breathing in to get an airflow moving across certain membranes in our sinuses. I believe this is just an attempt to bring in more dust or irritants, to aid the photic sneeze reflex. I believe they are seperate events, but dependent on each other.
~ The tilting the head back appears to just be a natural way that we can get maximum flow of air flowing through our nose (primative... as in sniffing the air to catch a scent)
~If you pinch your nose closed, and also keep your mouth tighly closed, no amount of light staring will trigger the reflex. I'd like other people to try that experiment, to confirm it.
~ After a lifetime of pondering & experimenting, my best theory is that pupil dialation plays a major part. And typical dusty air flowing over our sinus membranes is the other component. Together, these two things produce the Photic Sneeze Reflex.
Those that don't have it... can't imagine how brightness could possibly cause a sneeze. Those that do have it, can't imagine brightness not causing a sneeze, and at some point think everyone has it.
I belive it's "brightness" rather than "light", if the distinction can be made, that causes it.
I'd love to hear comments on my theories!
I think most people don't know this exists. It says it is harmless, but I suffer from severe sinus headaches along with all my family members who have it. SEVERE. I believe it is related because staring helps my headaches (and lots of pseudoephedrine) and this has something to do with the pupil dilating. I literally feel pressure relief when I do this, albeit brief. I think the association should be studied but is unknown due to the fact that most emt's do not ask, "Do you sneeze in direct sunlight?!"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think the article makes a good point that its related to stimulation and cross talk of nerves.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have had photic sneezing ever since I can remember. I am near sighted, so wear glasses to see for distance, and have green eyes.
One thing is that my eyes are really sensitive to bright light, but also I have a hard time with night vision.
It takes my eyes a long time to adjust to the dark, especially when I'm outside during the day and then enter a dark room, a theatre, office, etc.
It can be very disorientating.
As well, I don't think its necessarily genetic, as I don't know anyone else in my family that experiences this.
It could be the shape of your skull, nose, sinuses, etc when you are born, and how this affects where the nerves are located, hence both nerves being triggered at the same time. (one to dialate pupils, one to sneeze)
One commenter noted that they see tiny bubbles after they sneeze that are coloured.
Not unlike synesthesia, this could as well be certain unrelated nerves being triggered/stimulated at the same time, and have cross over reactions between the senses.
I have photic sneeze reflex. I can most definitely say it is not temperature related. I can also control the sneezing. I can choose to sneeze or not. It is not dust-related because when dust tickles my nose, I, more often than not, need to look at light to complete the sneeze.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is not only sunlight. I can look at any light, even a streetlamp. The brighter the light, the less I have to concentrate and clear my mind. With lesser light, I have to concentrate harder and think of nothing. Any thoughts will block the sneeze. My husband knows this, so whenever he sees me concentrating on a light source, he teases me by talking about mundane issues so as to block my sneeze.
Light tickles the nostrils, which then causes the eyes to moisten, not the other way around. I have no allergies, no asthma, no migraines, no breathing-related issues.
I cannot force myself to sneeze by merely looking at light. The sneeze must start by some other trigger.
i have just starting to look into why i sneeze when i walk into sunlight i have done this since i was a little boy and still continue to do it to this very day not only in the sun but also when i go into my bathroom or for that case any room that is very well lit i will sometimes get a itch in my nasal passage and have to look directly into a bright light in order to expell the sneeze multiple sneezes in fact so its good to have a little insight on what is the cause. sometimes sunglasses help but not all the time especially when i get the sensation the itch i have to get it out in order to sooth the itch in my nostrials if it is at night and there is no sun out i actually have to look straight into a light bulb to stimulate the itch into a sneeze sounds crazy but it is the truth my brother god rest his soul had the same condition we knew when one of us had to sneeze because we would be looking for a bright light to help in assisting to get the sneeze to come out sometime we would rub each other face just to disturb the process. strange but it is true just ask my wife she thinks it is amusing when she see's me looking for a bright light she says to me you gotta sneeze don't you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe answer to that, Bhutta suggests, might lie in another one of Everett's hypotheses: that the confusion arises in the way the medulla regulates our reflex actions. Everett originally proposed this idea to explain just photic sneezing, but Bhutta thinks it could explain all the strange sneezing conditions, since all of the triggers involve stimulation of a parasympathetic nerve response controlled by the medulla. When bright sunlight hits our eyes, our pupils contract involuntarily - a parasympathetic response. When our stomachs are full, the parasympathetic system kicks in to start our gastric juices flowing. When we think of sex, parasympathetic action stimulates blood flow to our genitals.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAll these nerve responses flow to and from regions of the medulla close to where the sneeze centre is located. This suggests that far from being a neat system of discrete responses to individual stimuli, our reflex systems at their base in the medulla are often a tangled web of cross-talking nerve wires. Sometimes when bright sunlight hits our eyes, the parasympathetic system responds appropriately and our pupils constrict. But for certain people whose medullas are wired differently, sunlight triggers a different reflex response, such as a sneeze.
Which is why some people sneeze when they're full, or when sexually aroused.
I have been looking directly into the sun since 1999. Believe it or not, I am not blind and my vision is perfect. I am well aware of the photic sneeze reflex and wish to contribute the following. I swear on the Bible that everything I say is true and obvious to me. Some years after I began sun gazing I noticed that I would look at someone and they would sneeze. After a while it became obvious that I was causing them to sneeze. I had reached a critical point of light absorption and reflection where enough light was coming off me to trigger the sneeze effect. It is random in that I cannot simply look at someone to make them sneeze but it does happen to me every day. It is kind of like my secret conversation with people. Here's a surprise: it even happens with dogs! I promise that on a few occasions I have looked at dogs in their eyes and they sneezed. On my life it is true. Sometimes I have made people sneeze by looking at the back of their necks. This is so obscure that even good friends of mine cannot be convinced that I can make people sneeze simply by looking at them. They think I have weird powers which might be the case for sun-gazers. There is another strange human response to light and eye contact. I swear that this too is true although completely random. Sometimes when I look into peoples' eyes both male and female although it is much more noticeable on women for obvious reasons, their nipples go hard. It happens directly and maybe I can only see it when they are wearing the right (or wrong) clothing. I don't stare or anything but I can see the effect peripherally and quite clearly. I have still not discovered the connectione between nipples and light entering the eyes but after more than 10 years of seeing it, it still completely fascinates me. The sneezing thing is my proof that the more light one sees, the more light one emits. This is called endogenous light. Personally, it happens to me a lot in the morning when I first wash my eyes in water and then begin my sun rituals for the day. It is a very pagan thing and if I may just quote two verses from the Old Testament which is the only biblical reference to a sneeze from Job 41.18 "His sneeze radiates light and his eyes are like the eyelids of dawn." I cannot claim to really understand the Bibel but it is clear to me that the book of Job is a secret guide to the art of sun gazing. After all, the early Bible period was still a pagan sun worship time. The other verse is from Ecclesiastes 7.11 "for the light is sweet and it is good for the eyes to see the sun". Thank you
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI also have blue eyes. I did notice if I am eating chocolate when I go into the bright sun I almost sneeze everytime and it is gross chocolate sneeze
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInteresting comment. I am one of the people who sneeze when looking at the sun or bright lights, it has always happened to me. I also have excellent eye sight, I remember getting an eye exam done when I was 20, he said my eyesight was better than perfect, that it was excellent, so maybe there is a connection, who knows!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInteresting comment. I am one of the people who sneeze when looking at the sun or bright lights, it has always happened to me. I also have excellent eye sight, I remember getting an eye exam done when I was 20, he said my eyesight was better than perfect, that it was excellent, so maybe there is a connection, who knows!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have this. I am 55 and have had this all my life. Actually I consider this as normal and that people that don't have this reaction as having a disfuntion. Could it not be as simple as the body tring to protect our eyes from damaging light. I have always been quite healthy,rarely get sick or a cold,(I've gone as long as five years without a cold), never had hay fever or allergies,never use aspiran or medications, and have never had a headache, so why shuldn't I feel that this is a natural reaction.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't think it is. I've suffered from 'sun sneezes' for as long as I can remember (as has my father before me and my daughter has them too). I'm not sure off the top of my head what my vision is, but I've worn glasses since the 7th grade (around 20 years now).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe 'lost sneeze' is likely tied into Photic sneezes. I get 'sun sneezes' and often, if I feel a slight sneeze coming, but it just won't come, I will intentionally look at a bright light (natural or artificial) in order to fully induce it - a good sneeze is so much more satisfying than one that starts then fizzles.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you want to see something way too funny... My wife, 3 children and I all sneeze uncontrollably when we go outside! It is like a freak show for those that have not experienced it before! I am by far the most sensitive. I can focus on a light indoors as well to set it off. If I breath in slowly through my nose and concentrate, it can speed up the process. Sometimes I need to pinch the bridge of my nose (right where the bone and cartilage come together) to trigger the response. I do not need to directly look at the bright lights... only look slightly in the direction to make the reaction happen. I have hazel eyes and a fairly large sniffer! Not sure if size matters but I have been told that my sense of smell is way above average... I do not think it has anything to do with dust. Happens more in the warmer weather than in the cold (but does happen in both). I can control it most of the time but sometimes I will sneeze 15+ times! It might sound strange - but I really like to sneeze! Fun to read about others here as well...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI sneeze all of the time when I'm looking at the sun! I also have allergies, but the sun definitely triggers a sneeze. I added this article to my staring at the sun squidoo page, http://www.squidoo.com/grand-canyon-solar-eclipse. Thanks for a great article!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy 7-1/2-year-old daughter is the only person I've ever known to do this! I just thought it was one of her many unusual quirks, like her quickness of mind or extreme flexibility. I can't wait to tell her that there's actually a NAME for her phenomenon!
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