Sneezing Can Be Fatal

There are many ancient superstitions attached to the simple act of sneezing and some of these are still believed today in less developed parts of the world. The use of the phrase, 'Bless You!' when someone sneezes is an excellent example of this.

There are several different explanations offered for this blessing on those who are thus affected. Some say that the heart stops when you sneeze but there is no medical evidence to support this. Others claim that when you sneeze your soul leaves your body and a blessing protects you from this fate.

In England the expression 'Bless you!' after a sneeze was first noted during the days of the plague, around the 1600's. This great plague was rampant in major cities, especially London, and it was most probably brought to the cities by rats which can carry bubonic plague in areas where it is active. Sneezing was the first sign of this infectious, killer disease. So, a blessing was useful for the sneezer and those in the vicinity.

There is an English nursery rhyme that sings about sneezing and the plague. It was thought that a posy of herbs held under the nose would not only disperse the aroma of the open sewers of the time, but also protect against infection:

'Ring a ring of roses,

A pocketful of posies,

Achoo, achoo,

All fall down'.

Sneezing is a automatic reaction to irritation of the mucus membrane inside the nose. It can be caused by allergens such as pollen, dust, fumes from paint, or traffic. Some people even suffer from what is known as photic sneezing and they sneeze in sunlight,especially first thing in the morning. It may also be an indication of a viral infection such as colds and 'flu'.

In 1983 a fourteen year old girl set a record for sneezing. She sneezed approximately every five minutes for nine hundred and seventy-seven days. Sneezing in total, more that two hundred and eighty one thousand times. This is quite amazing and must have been totally exhausting because it is estimated that the speed of a sneeze is more than a hundred miles per hour.