Have you ever wondered….. what is the best way to sneeze?
It’s Fall and that wonderful season of colds and flus is just around the corner…. and with those, comes the sneezing.
In addition to cold flus, and allergies, sneezing can be caused by being too full, bright lights, and even orgasms. But as common as sneezing is — other animals sneeze too — scientists know little about the phenomenon.
“A sneeze is designed to expel foreign particles and irritants from your airway, particularly your nasal cavity, and is a protective reflex,” says Dr. Moss, ENT Specialist with the Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Associates
Which Way’s the Exit?
If the sneeze is supposed to clean out our noses, should we let it out our mouths too? Sure, says Moss.
“The goal is to expel the irritant from the nasal cavity,” said Moss, so it’s important to sneeze at least partly out of your nose. However, because the nasal cavity isn’t big enough alone to handle the release of such a large volume of air, some of the sneeze pretty much has to go out your mouth. “The caveat being that if someone tries to withhold a sneeze, this volume will be lessened and the mouth could remain closed,” Moss said.
Holding It In vs. Letting It Out
The most common mistake people make when sneezing is just that — trying to hold it in.
“Don’t!” said Moss. “The process of sneezing is a defensive reflex. The body has to expel foreign particles, that enter our upper airway.”
Because a sneeze causes high pressures in your internal airways, holding it in can be harmful. But it causes problems only in rare situations. “These complications can include hearing loss, forcing air into the eye or brain, rupture or clotting of blood vessels, or breaking a rib,” Moss said.
And keeping your eyes open when you sneeze? It’s possible.
Once the “sneeze center of the brainstem” has been stimulated, it sends multiple muscle contraction signals to your body. One of them tells your eyes to close. “While it may not be impossible to keep from closing your eyes, it would take a conscious effort to keep them open,” Moss said.
The Best Sneeze Interceptor
All in all, a sneeze may be annoying, but it is good for you. “In our society, some may consider sneezing a faux pas, but what Dr. Moss typically tells his patients is to let it fly!”
The only problem is that these sneezes can spread germs to others around you.
While a few media outlets have done home experiments putting sneeze barriers to the test, scientists have been busy in the lab trying to figure out the best way to sneeze in order to stop the germ flow.
“Ambient air currents may also move the sneezed airflow around more slowly later, thus transporting airborne viruses beyond the immediate vicinity of the sneezer,” says Dr. Julian Tang of the Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health.
He conducted experiments to find out the proper way to catch your sneeze.
So, is it the open-hand catch?
Or the wait-was-that-a-cough open fist?
Or the quick-quick-grab-a-tissue?
The WINNER: The tissue. Lots of tissues,” Tang said, and be sure to wash your hands after and often.
No matter the sneeze catcher, the amount of sneeze stopped has “a lot of it has to do with how fast you can cover your sneeze.”
When a tissue is not available, the second best method is to sneeze into your sleeve (or elbow) It is important to note that the small gaps between fingers when using your hand alone will still allow the sneeze to spread.
So sneezing into your sleeve has a little better effectiveness then just a hand alone.
Just remember the sleeve now contains your germs, which can spread to other objects it comes into contact with.
So let it fly —but into a tissue, please.