Professor Hannah Fry has shared a simple trick for stopping a sneeze - and it could be especially useful if you’re in a place where you really need to keep quiet. The BBC Celebrity Traitors star posted on Facebook asking whether people are the kind who sneeze when they look at a bright light.
She joked: "If you are, I’m sorry to say that your brain is broken. Maybe not broken - but definitely mis-wired". Before getting into the sneezing science, though, how do you actually stop a sneeze?
How to stop a sneeze instantly
The broadcaster and mathematician says pressing down on your philtrum may stop it instantly. The philtrum is the vertical groove just above your top lip, running from the base of the nose down to the centre of the upper lip. Many people refer to this area as the Cupid’s bow.
The professor explained: "What that does if you press really hard, it overwhelms the trigeminal nerve and sort of confuses it and gives it another sensation that makes it forget about wanting to press the sneeze button."
The science behind the 'sneeze button'
To explain what this "sneeze button" is - and how the trigeminal nerve fits in - Hannah said: "There’s a nerve that runs up your face called the trigeminal nerve. It’s a real powerhouse, responsible for facial sensation and for controlling the large muscles you use to chew."
"If something like a bit of dust or a virus gets inside your nose and tickles you, this is the nerve that has the reflex that can hit a sneeze button and forcibly eject whatever it was that was tickling you. The thing is, also running up your face is the optic nerve - this is the ones that runs from your eyes and is literally what allows you to see."
"Some people, between about 18 and 35% of the population, the insulation, if you like, between these two is a little bit dodgy. You get cross-talk between the two nerves, and it means if you suddenly get a big change in the intensity of light - like someone switches on a really bright light bulb in your face - the optic nerve will kick off, unintentionally trigger the trigeminal nerve, which in turn panics and pushes the sneeze button."
An inherited trait
This 'miswiring' is inherited, the professor explained, likening it to whether you can roll your tongue; you get it from your parents. Scientists decided to call this trait the Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Opthalmic Outburst - otherwise known as ACHOO.
According to the Cleveland Clinic: "The act of sneezing after your eyes catch a glimpse of bright light isn’t inherently dangerous. But what is dangerous is sneezing uncontrollably in high-risk situations that need focus, like when you’re driving." If you’re driving or in a situation where sneezing isn’t ideal, try this simple trick instead.
