why cant you sneeze with your eyes open?
350880
It is a reflex action which is almost impossible to overcome.
422229
When you sneeze the air from your nostrils come out with great force (infact stronger than the strongest wind!).\n\nIt is said that if you sneeze with your eyes open, your eyeballs might pop out!! It may be possible as our eyeballs are just held in sockets and do not have supportive structures to hold them in place.\n\nWhen you try to hold back a sneeze, your eyes start watering a little bit.
88528
It is an involuntary reaction.  I wonder if it is to keep our eyes from popping out!  But, really, that's just how our brain directs our bodies during such a complex human action.  Do animals close their eyes when they sneeze too?
149715
It is almost impossible for a person to keep their eyelids open during a sneeze, although some rare individuals report having little if any trouble doing so.\n\nThe sneeze center makes all these muscles work in just the right order, to send that irritating particle out of your nose -- at speeds up to 100 mph
267134
look at a bright light-it usually works!=) oops thats for getting a sneeze out....sorry =) not sure how to stop em' just don't fart and sneeze at the same time...although i'm not sure you can...
376602
Whenever I look at the sun (not often, be assured) I don't seem to feel any sudden sneezes coming on. Perhaps your sinuses are shaped as to when you tilt your head back, you trigger a sneeze? Maybe it's temporary, because of a cold or bad sinuses or allergies.\n\nYou should try looking into the sun (not for very long) in the morning or evening when you don't have to tilt your head and see what happens.
907417
Heck if i know. I'm asleep. Seriously though. There's no reason whatsoever why a person can't sneeze while asleep. What if you're dreaming about petting a cat and you're allergic to cats? Yes is your answer.\n-\nOk, I read a few articles on sneezing while asleep. They all say a person can't. I still say just because people don't sneeze while asleep doesn't mean they "can't". Tell you what. Let me put some pepper under your nose while you're asleep and let see if you don't sneeze. =)\n.\n.
469034
Because otherwise some 'thing' in your eyes will get damaged by the fastness of a sneeze, and therefore the eyelids react with shutting when sneezing.\nDon't really remember more than that, I read it 3 years ago somewhere... :S
970529
Other explanations are based on superstitions and urban legends about sneezing and what a sneeze entails. Some well known superstitions that may have contributed to bringing "bless you" into common use are:\n\nThe heart stops when you sneeze (it doesn't), and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. \nA sneeze is the expulsion of some sort of evil, and the phrase is meant to ward off the evil's re-entry. \nYour soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil. \nA sneeze is good luck and saying "bless you" is no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness. \nAlternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.\n\nAnother urban legend states that you cannot open your eyes while you sneeze, or if you manage to your eyes will pop out. Both of the statements are untrue.
753958
Similar to the reflex that occurs when your knee kicks after it's hit with a medical hammer, or the way your hand pulls away from something hot when you burn it, closing your eyes when you sneeze is a powerful reflex.\n\nA sneeze is a kind of bodywide reflex in which a lot of muscles contract, not just in the nose and throat but also those in the diaphragm, the abdomen, thighs, back, even sphincters (which is why some people with stress incontinence may urinate slightly when they sneeze). When we sneeze, we tense some of our muscles. The tensing (tightening) of our muscles causes our eyes to shut.
271416
It is almost impossible for a person to keep their eyelids open during a sneeze, although some rare individuals report having little if any trouble doing so. The reflex of shutting the eyes serves no obvious purpose: the nerves serving the eyes and the nose are closely related, and stimuli to the one often trigger some response in the other.
750600
A sneeze is a reflex that you can do even during sleep but considering you are sleeping you yourself won't know that you had sneezed while asleep, perhaps another person around could tell you or perhaps you can keep a recorder running while you are asleep to know. Anyway, if you sneeze while asleep I believe it will be a reasonable cause for you to awake so in that case you sneezed and you know you did but not in a sleeping situation anymore.♥
462099
Because it makes your sinuses start running from the sudden heat.\nYou're not allergic to sunshine, I thought that kinda thing too and asked my doctor and he just said it's the heat making your sinuses run, so you sneeze.
162788
Tidbitonebox7 is on the right track.  The nerves that serve your eyes and nose are very close together, and strong stimulation of one can affect the other.  So, if you get a strong light stimulation in your eyes, it can affect your nose nerves and cause you to want to sneeze.  There are similar affects and effects throughout the body.
768201
Generally, the eyes close to shield them from flying debris, as in that jettisoned from your nostrils.  If you want to be blinded by a booger, fine -- I'll close my blinkers until the sneezin' is done.
747535
Wouldn't it be icky to have a runny nose in that case?  How would you see while you were blowing....that would pretty much make it impossible to blow while driving or walking wouldn't it?  EEEEEEk!  I don't even want to think of what a sneeze would do or how many extra germs you would get into your eyes...if you snored, would you snort your eyelids up and suffocate????  The logistical problems I can see from this are endless and very amusing!  LOL
789205
YA:\n-Cover your mouth and your nose\n- Sometimes hold your nose so you dont get this really loud sneeze!\n- And try not to make it noticable in public!\nHope i helped!