The 5 horrific things that can happen if you hold in a sneeze – from aneurysm to collapsed lungs
HAVE you every found yourself in a situation where you really had to sneeze but felt like you should hold it in?
Perhaps, you were on a packed train during rush-hour, or riding a crowded lift full of colleagues.
This is especially the case since the Covid pandemic, when it became a serious social taboo to sneezing in public or near people.
And while it’s usual, and polite, to stifle a sneeze or aim for your elbow or a tissue, experts say you should never try and stop yourself from sneezing as it can cause some serious damage to your body.
In fact, back in 2018, a Brit ruptured his throat by stifling a sneeze.
This is because closing your mouth or nose during a sneeze increases the pressure in the airways five to 20 times more than a normal sneeze.
And with no where to escape, the pressure just transmits to other areas of the body, according to Dr Theresa Larkin, associate professor of Medical Sciences at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
“That can damage your eyes, ears or blood vessels,” she said.
“Though the risk is low, brain aneurysm, ruptured throat and collapsed lung have been reported.”
1. Throat damage
The aforementioned case of the man spitting his own throat is an example of the sort of throat damage holding in a sneeze can do.
By clamping his nose and mouth down pre-sneeze, the pressure ripped through the soft tissue, medics wrote in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
The 34-year-old was left in a lot of pain and could barely speak or swallow.
He claimed to have felt a popping sensation in his neck, which began to swell, after he tried to hold in a sneeze by closing his mouth and pinching his nose at the same time.
2. Red blotchy face
Sneezes exert a lot of pressure, and trying to hold one back could cause a capillary in the eyes, nose or eardrum to burst.
This can cause superficial damage to the face, making it more red and blotchy, Dr Jason Abramowitz, an otolaryngologist from Allergy Associates, New Jersey, US, said.
“You might see a red spot on the eyeball or even have a small nosebleed,” he explained.
In more severe cases, it can also cause your eardrum to pop, he added.
This happens when the eardrum ruptures.
A ruptured eardrum usually heals within a few weeks without treatment, but can sometimes result in hearing loss.
3. An aneurysm
In rare cases, the build up of pressure in the face can also trigger an brain aneurysm.
This occurs when there is a bulge in a weakened blood vessel, the NHS says.
Having a blood vessel burst in the brain can lead to bleeding in the skull around the brain, which is life-threatening.
Bleeding can cause extensive brain damage – with three in five people dying within two weeks of suffering this.
4. Middle ear infection
For those sneezing because they have the cold or flu, holding it in could cause a middle ear infection.
This is because sneezing helps clear your nose of any things that shouldn’t be there, that includes bacteria.
So pushing air carrying bacteria or infected mucus back into the middle ear could cause infection, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
5. Collapsed lung
When you hold in a sneeze you might experience a feeling of uncomfortable fullness in your chest.
This is because you’re putting pressure on the diaphragm, the muscle in the chest that helps us breathe, Dr Jason said.
While rare, there have been reports of too much air and pressure getting trapped in the diaphragm and collapsing the lungs in people trying to hold in their sneezes.
The condition, medically known as pneumothorax, happens when air is trapped between a lung and the chest wall.
In some cases, when only a small amount of air is trapped, it usuallys resolve by itself.
Larger amounts of trapped air can be serious and lead to death if not treated urgently.