We've all likely heard cryptic warnings over the years about what will happen if you try to suppress a sneeze, and one case study now shows those warnings may not be unwarranted. In what it says is the first case of its kind, Live Science reports on a man in his 30s who ended up tearing a small hole in his windpipe, or trachea, while trying to hold a sneeze back during a drive. Per a report in the BMJ Case Reports journal, the unlucky man suffered a bout of hay fever while behind the wheel and "stifled the sneezes by pinching his nose and closing his mouth."
The man went to the ER after experiencing severe neck pain following the suppressed sneezing, with his neck swollen on both sides and hard to move, though he was able to breathe, swallow, and talk. X-rays, CT scans, and other tests revealed a variety of issues, including air in the space between his lungs, as well as surgical emphysema, which is when air or gas enters the deepest layer of skin. He also had a 0.8-inch by 0.8-inch tear in his windpipe. The scientists behind the report note that the trachea became "perforated due to a rapid buildup of pressure" as a result of the man clamping his nose and mouth shut when the sneeze was triggered.
The researchers point out that during a sneeze, the pressure inside one's upper airways can jump 20 times higher than what it would normally be. Surgery wasn't needed in this man's case—after being monitored at the hospital for a couple of days, he was discharged and went home to finish his recuperation. A CT scan five weeks later showed the windpipe tear had healed completely. Even though this case is the first of its kind, others have suffered sneezing injuries before: Per the National Post, a man in the UK in 2018 saw the back of his throat rupture as he tried to keep a sneeze back. (More sneeze stories.)
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