IUBio

sneezing in the sun

student at nottingham.ac.uk student at nottingham.ac.uk
Thu Apr 30 09:52:14 EST 1998


I have always had of the problem of sneezing when I see bright light, be it 
the sun or a lightbulb or just some bright reflection.

I myself is of Chinese origin so I am not sure about the 'theory' that it is 
more common in some ethnic groups.

It usually happens when I go from indoors to outdoors, that is, the sudden 
projection of a relatively large amount of light onto the retina triggers 
this.  I have always explained it to myself that because the visual and 
olfactory nerves are close together, an over-stimulation of one may affect the 
other.  As to its significance in evolutionary terms, I personally think that 
it is a protective mechanism which prevents too much light from getting into 
your eyes (which is potentially very damaging and may cause blindness) - this 
is because when you sneeze you tend to close your eyes?

I have to say, though, that I have come across people who claim to have their 
eyes open when they see so that they can keep their eyes on the road while 
they're driving.

I don't know, perhaps what I'm saying is all utter rubbish, but that's what I 
think, if I'm wrong, I'll be more than happy to receive criticism, afterall 
this is what newsgroups are for, isn't it?



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