Why does looking at the sun or into a bright light make me sneeze?
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.
217632
Sounds like morning allergies. I used to have that when i lived in an apt that had bad ventillation and carpet. You have to vacuum frequently, wipe away dusty areas, open your windows in the morning. When i moved into my new apt that has wooden floors, I never had the sneezing problem again.
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!
190467
Sneezing is actually a reflex action to a stimuli.The nerves send the message to the brain and then you sneeze. During sleep the reflex part of your brain rests too. The irritant still annoys the nerves but  no message is sent to the brain. However if the stimuli builds the irritant to  a level registered as pain the brain will wake you and you will sneeze (but to have this part of your brain working  you need to be awake!!)Scientific Fact! :)
344454
You might be allergic to the grass especially if your eyes get red and itchy and you get sneezy or sniffly.
920736
If he's about to sneeze (and can feel it building up) then he should stare at a bright light (obviously not TOO bright or sneezing will be the least of his problems!) It stops you from sneezing! It does work...bout 50% of the time. God knows how though!\n Failing that, make him sit in the garden.At least you wont be able to hear him!!
758125
A sternutation or, more commonly known, sneeze is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the nose and mouth. This air can reach speeds of 70 m/s (250 km/h) and an unimpeded sneeze sends two to five thousand bacteria-filled droplets into the air\n\nThis was also interesting:\n\nFebruary 2002 - Your brain musters a host of muscles to clear irritants from your nose at speeds up to 100 mph.\n\nEver try to stop a sneeze? Not easy, is it?\n\nSneezing is a reflex. "When your nose itches you sneeze," just as your knee jerks when a doctor taps it, says California allergist William E. Berger, M.D., a member of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "Closing your eyes when you sneeze is also part of the reflex reaction."\n\nSneezing may seem simple, but it's more involved than you think. Here's how it works: Your nose often warns you a sneeze is coming. An irritant makes your nose start to itch or tickle.\n\nThen the part of your brain termed a "sneeze center" sends a message to designated muscles. "The signal from the brain tells our body to sneeze as a means of clearing out the irritating particles," says Dr. Berger.\n\nThe chest, abdomen, diaphragm, vocal cords, throat and eyelids join in a certain order to launch a sneeze. Presto -- your nose releases the irritant that's causing that itch. A sneeze propels particles from your nose at a speed of up to 100 miles per hour.\n\nSome particles sneak into your nose in a normal breath. A lot more come from colds or allergies. But the cause of your sneeze could also be bright sunshine.\n\nStrange as it sounds, bright light causes one out of three people to sneeze. Some doctors call them "photics," from the Greek meaning "of light." Photic sneezers can blame their parents -- you inherit this trait.\n\nIf your sneeze comes with chest congestion, headache, yellow or green nasal discharge, fever or a stuffy nose, you may want to see a doctor. You could have a cold or allergy.\n\nYou may be tempted to stop a sneeze. Don't.
16017
Sneeze is an involuntary violent expiration of air through the nose and mouth. It results from stimulation of the nervous system in the nose, causing sudden contraction of the muscles of expiration. The stimulus can include any irritating factor in the nose—inflammation of the tissues as the result of a cold or infection, allergic irritants (hay fever), or irritating substances such as dust or pollutants in the air. An occasional sneeze usually has little significance. Repeated sneezing indicates that some condition of the nose or in the immediate atmosphere requires attention.
72870
Sounds to me like you've got a condition called photic sneeze reflex.
1081304
due to the force with which u sneeze ,ur eyes will automatically close.try it but u will not succeed.\n\nGOOD LUCK!
1159450
goose bumps are triggered by some involuntary nerve signals which could be triggered by heavy sneezing, i get once in a while if the sneezing is quite strong, even i get  blinkers in front of my eyes like floating particles(you might have noticed in  cartoon characters mugged on their heads )
3160
This reflex occurs in about 25% of people and seems to occur more often in Caucasians.  It is called photic sneeze reflex, or Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst Syndrome.  There is little research in this area, but the current thinking is that  the eye's optic nerve and the nerves causing sneezing are closely related, so that when the eye is stimulated, sneezing occurs.
332206
Some people think it does. but really, the simple fact of looking up is opening your nasal cavities, making it easier for your body to complete the sneeze. It seems logical for people to try to make the connection between sneezing and looking at light... The sun and light are just making you squint when you look at it.
571283
"Photic sneeze reflex" is the medical term for what you've got. Researchers fear they'll get a guy like you in a screaming dogfight, you break through the clouds into bright sunlight, you sneeze, your eyes snap shut, and the next thing you know they're picking you up off the landscape with a rake.\n\nPhotic sneeze reflex occurs in something like one-sixth to one-quarter of the population. It occurs more often in Caucasians than Afro-Americans or Orientals.\n\nAccording to a Johns Hopkins medic named Stephen Peroutka, the trait is passed along genetically, with a 50 percent chance of inheritance.\n\nResearchers in Sweden found that out of 460 subjects, 24 percent sneezed in bright light, and 40 percent had at least one sneezing parent.\n\nSixty-four percent of children with one sneezing parent were themselves sneezers, but two nonsneezers never produced a sneezer. (Isn't it amazing how I can make these things so easy to understand?)\n\nNobody's exactly sure what causes photic sneeze reflex. I see here in one of the journals we have an impressive discussion of the role of the trigeminal nerve nucleus.\n\nBasically what this is saying is that you've got a lot of nerves crammed together in the front of your head, and maybe there can can be leakage of sorts from one nerve pathway to another. So perhaps the reflex is just a case of congenitally crossed signals.\n\nAt this point nobody's prepared to go in there with a pliers and fix it. So your best bet is to wear sunglasses and stay out of fighter jets.
475713
It doesn't do that with everyone....\n\nbut in most people the nerve from the eye (Optic nerve) runs just next to the nerve for the nose(Olfactory nerve).\n\nSo a powerful light stimulate the optic nerve, which stimulates the Olfactory nerve (from proximity) - the result is a feeling that you need to sneeze.\n\n\n-- edit --\nWhoops.. not the olfactory nerve- that conveys odors...\n\nHere is a snip from a web page addressing this issue:\n\nQ. Why Does Sunlight Cause Sneezing?\nFrom Apply Now, Your Guide to Vision.\n\nUp to 25% of us can't escape it. We walk out of a dark movie theater into the bright sunlight, and then it happens: "Ah choo!" This sneeze reflex is a genuine phenomenon. So what causes it? \n\nA. Close association between the eye’s optic nerve and nerves causing the sneeze reflex may explain why an estimated 5-25% of people sneeze with sudden exposure to bright sunlight or other light sources.\n\nSudden bright stimulation of the eye that occurs after a person has become adapted to darker surroundings is thought to bring on the condition, known as photic sneeze reflex. The reflex also is called Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst Syndrome, known by the acronym ACHOO. (Not making this up. Really.)
370361
Probably because your face contorts (even if only slightly when the light source is mild), and that adds to the irritation in your nostril, triggering off a sneeze.
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