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Asked by parry to Gemma on 14 Jun 2011.
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Gemma Sharp answered on 14 Jun 2011:
Good question.
Well, apparently some people don’t automatically shut their eyes when they sneeze, so I guess it IS possible to sneeze with your eyes open.
Having said that, most people (including me) shut their eyes when they sneeze. Sneezing is an involuntary process (we don’t decide we want to sneeze and make ourselves do it, it happens on its own) to expel dust and allergens from our noses. When your eyes shut, they do it automatically without you telling them to.
Some people say we automatically shut our eyes when we sneeze to stop our eyeballs falling out, but that’s not true! Our eyeballs are attached by strong muscles. Other people say it might be because we’re trying to protect our eyes from the snot and germs that come out the nose when we sneeze, but there’s no evidence to support that either.
Shutting your eyes when you sneeze is probably just an involuntary reaction, if you’re one of the people that does it, you probably won’y be able to keep your eyes open. I know that I wouldn’t be able to, it would ruin a good sneeze!
Anyway, in the name of science, try it next time you feel a sneeze coming (promise your eyeballs won’t fall out) 🙂
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Comments
Akshat commented on :
Closing your eyes while sneezing is a reflex. A reflex is an automatic response that your brain takes without you actually having to think of it. Here is a common reflex: if some pricks you with a pin then you will immediately make a movement to pull that part of your body away from the pin.
But as Gemma said there are some people who lack this reflex (due to some genetic reasons most probably) and they can sneeze with their eyes open!
Akshat commented on :
Oh you have to see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5fJYHbK7k