What Are The Risks Of Stopping A Sneeze? When Should You Consult A Doctor? Expert Explains

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Most people, when feeling a sneeze coming on, block all exits, swallowing the sneeze's explosive force. This is especially true if you are outside, around other people.

Sneezing is your body's defence against any infection. When your body detects that something is entering your nose, your body causes you to sneeze. Some examples include dirt, dust, bacteria, pollen, smoke, and mould [1].

Therefore, sometimes suppressing a sneeze may seem appropriate, but the effects of suppressing a sneeze are extensive.

What Are The Dangers Of Holding In A Sneeze?

Holding your sneeze, simply put, is dangerous because of the energy it generates. When you sneeze, a significant amount of pressure is generated, and if you hold the pressure, you may rupture your eardrums, irritate your throat, or even rupture blood vessels in your eyes or brain.

1. Ruptured eardrum

A sneeze that is held in can cause damage to your hearing and damage to your middle and inner ear, including a ruptured eardrum. If you hold in your breath before sneezing, some air can also enter your ear [2].

Eventually, the pressurized air goes into the Eustachian tube located in each ear, which connects the middle ear to the eardrum. The pressure can cause the eardrum to rupture, resulting in hearing loss.

2. Infections

It is important to sneeze so that you can clean your nose of anything that should not be in there, including bacteria. Holding a sneeze can result in the redirection of air back into your ears from your nasal passages that carry bacteria or infected mucus to your middle ear, which can cause an infection. Your middle ear infection may require antibiotics to treat [3].

3. Damaged blood vessels in the eyes, nose, or eardrums

Despite being extremely rare, it is possible to damage blood vessels in your eyes, nose, or eardrums when holding in a sneeze. The increased pressure caused by holding in the sneeze can cause blood vessels in the nasal passages to squeeze and burst.

In most cases, these injuries result in superficial damage to your appearance, such as reddening of your eyes or nose [4].

4. Diaphragm injury

Although these injuries are rare, doctors have observed instances in which pressurized air becomes trapped in the diaphragm, collapsing the lungs in individuals trying to sneeze with difficulty. It is a life-threatening injury that requires immediate hospitalisation. You may experience chest pain after holding in a sneeze due to the additional pressure [5].

5. Broken ribs

In some instances, older adults have reported breaking ribs as a result of sneezing. Holding in a sneeze can also cause ribs to break, since high-pressure air is forced into your lungs with a great deal of force [6].

6. Aneurysm

Experts say that holding in a sneeze can lead to the rupture of a brain aneurysm, which can result in bleeding around the brain.

7. Throat damage

In at least one case, a person ruptured the back of their throat while holding back a sneeze. One such case was that, it was reported that an individual felt a popping sensation in their neck, which swelled, after they tried to hold in a sneeze by closing his mouth and pinching nose at the same time. This is a serious injury that needs to be treated immediately [7].

Can You Die From Holding In A Sneeze?

Arya Krishna, a doctor at NHS UK said, "while some injuries from holding in a sneeze can be very serious, such as ruptured brain aneurysms, broken ribs, and collapsed lungs, there haven't been any cases in my knowledge where people have died due to holding in a sneeze."

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Arya KrishnanEmergency Medicine

MBBS

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