is it true that every time you sneeze you die?
375161
In a word, no, your heart does not stop when you sneeze. From my perspective, it is hard to even imagine what this would mean. A sneeze itself is really a very brief event, occurring in a shorter time then a heartbeat. Of course, there is the building up to the sneeze (the "ah" of the "ah-choo"), but the heart certainly does not stop beating because of this ah-ing. Check your pulse next time to prove this to yourself.\n\nAs I answer this question, I am trying to imagine just how the heart might even "know" that you are sneezing. The heart beats because a small part of it called the SA node has a "pacemaker" activity. What this means is that there is a type of electrical cycle going on that triggers beats roughly once every second. Sneezing does not change this electrical cycle, so the heart keeps beating. Said a different way, the muscle of your heart is a big mass of electrically active tissue, and this electrical activity will not stop because of a sneeze, or anything else for that matter.\n\nAnd yet, a sneeze is definitely a complex cardiovascular event. As you "ah" and "choo", you significantly change the pressure inside your chest, which in turn affects blood flow and thus the beating of the heart. Still further, I assume that a sneeze involves a significant activation of certain pathways of the "autonomic" (roughly means automatic) nervous system. These also innervate the heart and do affect the frequency and other aspects of the heartbeat.\n\nSo MAYBE the rapid culmination of these inputs OCCASIONALLY causes the heart to "skip a beat" after a sneeze. Notice I did not say "stop". We all experience skipped beats once in a while, some more than others. You may notice it as a "fluttering" in your chest, a sensation that generally evokes a bit of anxiety. What happens is that there is occasionally a discoordination of the normally organized pathways of electrical activity in the heart. Sometimes one part of the heart does not conduct the beat appropriately, or more commonly, another part actually manages to beat ahead of schedule, thus throwing the whole beat off. Either way, you get one beat that does not occur correctly. But all this means is that you have to wait for the beginning of the next electrical cycle to come around, at which time a normal, organized beat will occur (assuming that we are talking about a normal heart!). You see, the heart didn’t stop, really, since the electrical cycle was still ongoing. It just got out of synch for a while. Again, I am not actually aware that this happens with any increased frequency after a sneeze, but I suppose it is possible.\n\nTom Wilson, MD PhD \n\nhttp://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar98/890925984.An.r.html
1141521
This has been recognized in medical journals for at least 40 years, and is called different things, including the "photic sneeze reflex" and even the "ACHOO syndrome". In a few instances the reflex has been documented by shining bright lights at people to make them sneeze, so it probably really does happen. \n\nNobody is really sure why.  Apparently, somehow, the nerve pathway associated with sneezing is stimulated with the exposure to bright light.
461348
Yes, that is why people say "God bless you" after you sneeze.
376593
No one knows the reason you close your eyes when you sneeze. There are many possibilities.  the reason held by most doctors is that closing your eyes when you sneeze is a reflex and it's very difficult to change that.  Actually when you sneeze the velocity at which the air comes out is about 99 mph.   During this part of the sneeze, we tense some of our facial muscles an d by doing this tensing (tightening) of our muscles causes our eyes to shut. therefore, i think that closing your eyes is just part of the reflex of sneezing.
116068
Does your heart stop when you sneeze?\n– Lauren K, El Cajon\n\nNo. The heart's rhythm is controlled by a natural pacemaker – the sinoatrial node, a group of cells located in the right atrium of the heart. These cells create an electrical impulse by pumping charged particles out of the cell and then allowing them to flow back in. Conducting cells transmit the electrical impulse to all parts of the heart to initiate muscle contraction. Sneezing does not stop this electrical activity.\n\nHowever, the nervous system and circulating hormones, such as adrenaline, alter the rate of the electrical activity in the sinoatrial node to increase or decrease heart rate. Just as exercise leads to an increased heart rate, sneezing works many muscles; therefore it is possible for a "sneeze attack" to increase heart rate.\n--------------------\nSherry Seethaler has a doctorate in science education and is a UCSD science writer and educator. Send your scientific questions to her at Quest, San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191. Or e-mail sseethaler@ucsd.edu. Please include your name, city of residence and phone number.\n======================================\nDear Earl,\nWhen I sneeze, does my heart stop?\n\nBen, Age 12\n\nDear Ben,\nDefinitely not, although that is a common myth. Looking at the sites in our Heart category, your heart keeps pumping blood throughout your body from when you're a baby in your mother's womb until the moment of death. Your heart beats all day and all night, all the time. When you run or play hard, your heart beats faster. When you're asleep, your heart beats slower, but it doesn't stop. If a person needs heart surgery, doctors hook the patient up to a machine that pumps blood for the heart. Only then is it safe for the doctor to stop the heart in order to operate. When you sneeze, the muscles in your abdomen, chest, and throat are all involved. And, even though you might not notice it, your heart is working too.\n\nEarl
305374
I was once told it's because your heart skips a beat when you sneeze.............not sure it that's true or not?
191465
No, that is a myth....\n\nIn a word, no, your heart does not stop when you sneeze.  From my \nperspective, it is hard to even imagine what this would mean.  A sneeze \nitself is really a very brief event, occurring in a shorter time then a \nheartbeat.  Of course, there is the building up to the sneeze (the "ah" of \nthe "ah-choo"), but the heart certainly does not stop beating because of \nthis ah-ing.  Check your pulse next time to prove this to yourself.\n\nAs I answer this question, I am trying to imagine just how the heart might \neven "know" that you are sneezing.  The heart beats because a small part of \nit called the SA node has a "pacemaker" activity.  What this means is that \nthere is a type of electrical cycle going on that triggers beats roughly \nonce every second.  Sneezing does not change this electrical cycle, so the \nheart keeps beating.  Said a different way, the muscle of your heart is a \nbig mass of electrically active tissue, and this electrical activity will \nnot stop because of a sneeze, or anything else for that matter.\n\nAnd yet, a sneeze is definitely a complex cardiovascular event.  As you \n"ah" and "choo", you significantly change the pressure inside your chest, \nwhich in turn affects blood flow and thus the beating of the heart.  Still \nfurther, I assume that a sneeze involves a significant activation of \ncertain pathways of the "autonomic" (roughly means automatic) nervous \nsystem.  These also innervate the heart and do affect the frequency and \nother aspects of the heartbeat.\n\nSo MAYBE the rapid culmination of these inputs OCCASIONALLY causes the \nheart to "skip a beat" after a sneeze.  Notice I did not say "stop".  We \nall experience skipped beats once in a while, some more than others.  You \nmay notice it as a "fluttering" in your chest, a sensation that generally \nevokes a bit of anxiety.  What happens is that there is occasionally a \ndiscoordination of the normally organized pathways of electrical activity \nin the heart.  Sometimes one part of the heart does not conduct the beat \nappropriately, or more commonly, another part actually manages to beat \nahead of schedule, thus throwing the whole beat off.  Either way, you get \none beat that does not occur correctly.  But all this means is that you \nhave to wait for the beginning of the next electrical cycle to come around, \nat which time a normal, organized beat will occur (assuming that we are \ntalking about a normal heart!).  You see, the heart didn’t stop, really, \nsince the electrical cycle was still ongoing.  It just got out of synch for \na while.  Again, I am not actually aware that this happens with any \nincreased frequency after a sneeze, but I suppose it is possible.\n\nTaking a more historical/philosophical view of your question, the much more \nlikely explanation for why people say "God bless you" has to do with \nreligious beliefs and superstition.  As I understand it, in earlier times \nit was believed that when you sneezed you opened yourself, or your soul, to \nthe outside world.  It was an unnatural and certainly a bizarre happening, \nand clearly portended evil.  I am certain that there are variations on this \ntheme, but basically it was thought that your soul might escape, or demons \nand evil spirits might get in, or even that they may have caused the sneeze \nin the first place.  The blessing was to help ward off such badness.  I am \nno historian, but I think people have done fairly extensive studies of this \ncustom, its variations, and its origins.\n\nAh, well.  Or maybe I should say, Ah choo.\n\nTom Wilson, MD PhD
352983
Yes. This is a very interesting question and have an answer everyone must know. \n\nWhenever we sneeze, our heart stops. This is the only time in the life (of a living person) when a heart stops. There has been a convention of different cultures around the world to welcome (or say welcome back) just after sneezing. These people don't know why we welcome the person who just sneezed. But the truth is that, he/she just came back from a situation between life and death.
853475
Sneezing contracts a lot of the muscles in your face, including the ones controlling your eyelids.\n\nAs for the people answering with the popping eyeballs: LOL!
20950
The custom of saying "God bless you" after a sneeze was begun literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague (his successor succumbed to it). When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not subsequently develop the plague. All that prayer apparently worked, judging by how quickly the plague of 590 AD diminished.  \n\nIt is also interesting to note that it is impossible to close your eyes when you sneeze, so everytime I sneeze, I try to say a little prayer.
1049826
It is a superstition.  People used to believe that the devil could enter you when you sneezed.  God Bless You was a way for others to try to help prevent that.
263698
oh yeah, it is like your entire body is a sneeze.
574231
Sneezing is a reflex that occurs when something irritates the mucus membrane in our nose. Particulate matter, bacteria, and other such things get bogged down in the mucus and tiny hair-like cilia wiggle the potentially hazardous material toward the front of the nose or down the back of the throat. A message is sent to the brainstem, which sends messages all over the body. What happens next?…that great spasmodic reflex we call sneezing, a well-coordinated effort of many muscles working at once…your diaphragm muscle flexes, as do your abdominal muscles, your chest muscles, the muscles controlling the vocal cords, and the muscles in the back of your throat…your tongue raises to block your mouth…and your eyelids close. Air is forced out of your nose, sending thousands of bacteria-filled globules of snot into our immediate atmosphere…and then, as good manners dictate…people will invoke higher powers to bestow upon you a blessing. A most sanctimonious event, indeed!
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
141720
No...have you? (why don't you add some details to your question so we can find out if you have heard one)\n\nThanks for the explanation...I have no idea why you're hearing sneezes. Maybe it's a ghost or a spirit...
252147
In a way "yes" and a way "no". Yes, most of the time it is physically imposible, yet, there are those rare cases in which u can sneeze with your eyes open. It has yet been proven that the eyes pop out, yet the sneezing with the eyes open does occur. I learned in my Psychology class that there is a disorder called the Conversion Disorder. In most cases of this disorder there is uncontrollable sneezing, and in such cases as these, the persons eyes DO NOT close during a sneeze.\n\nAlso, even though u may think that the eyes arent connected to the nose, throat, etc. They in fact are connected. Have u ever taken eye drops and allowed the whole entire eye drop get completly absorbed by the eye?? If u have did u taste anything?? Did u smell any thing?? Im not sure exactly what its called, it could possible be the tear ducts, i dunno, but there is an entry/exit way at the corners of your eyes, when u take eye drops and the eye drop "mysteriously" dissolves, most of it went down that entry/exit way. Hence, it sliding down your throat and into your mouth (just a lil bit) tasting it and smelling it at the sametime. If yer tasting yer smellin as well. (unless those sensory organs are usless) This doesnt werk on Visine and water-based eyedrops. \n\nSo, the answer is "NO" on the eyes poppin outta the dome.
618996
Generally I hear a few "Bless you's" when I sneeze which I think is nice. I also always say, "Excuse me" when I sneeze as I feel I am the one spreading the germs.