Reading time: 2 minutes – Spotted on The Conversation
This is an article that will undoubtedly worry those most allergic to pollen, those who keep breaking consecutive sneezing records. The British edition of The Conversation reports that in early June, in Florida, an American man saw his intestines explode out of his body… after sneezing.
The victim of this accident had recently undergone abdominal surgery and was suffering from the fact that his scar was not closing properly. Following a sneeze, the man felt pain and a wet sensation in his lower abdomen, before discovering that several intestinal loops had burst through the unhealed wound. He was then rushed to hospital to undergo surgery, during which his intestines were placed back into his abdomen.
That’s enough for The Conversation to revisit the potential dangers of sneezing. Because if this protective mechanism prevents potentially dangerous elements such as dust, bacteria and viruses from penetrating our respiratory system, it can be accompanied by a risk of injury that we do not imagine.
Don’t hold back
For example, a violent sneeze can cause a lung herniation (a protrusion of the lung outside the chest wall). Obesity, diabetes and smoking can be the cause. The action of sneezing can also tear the delicate tissues of the lungs. This happens when the air in them escapes into the space between the chest and the lung, compressing the lung on one or both sides of the chest.
There have also been reports of patients tearing the delicate lining of the brain while sneezing, resulting in a subarachnoid hemorrhage (a type of stroke) which can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Even if this wall is not torn, a sneeze can still affect the brain – cases of weakness on one side of the body or vision problems have already been observed.
And that’s not all. Sneezing violently can cause serious damage to blood vessels, broken bones around the eye or ear (which can lead to hearing loss), or even leakage of body fluids (such as urine). the bladder).
Considering all the potential injuries, you might think it’s best to hold back. Again, this is not without danger. In 2023, a Scottish man held back a sneeze by closing his mouth and holding his nose… until he tore his windpipe. By closing his airways, he caused the pressure generated by the sneeze to build up inside the respiratory system, which can be up to twenty times the normal pressure.
The fact remains that our body is very well adapted to sneezing. So you probably don’t have to worry about suffering from such damage which, for the most part, only occurs in very rare circumstances.
