Sneezing Too Hard Can Break Your Ribs, Suppressing It Can Kill You!

yetunde oyeleke

April 9, 2014 12:40 PM

Sneezing too hard can break your ribs and trying to suppress a sneeze is dangerous as your eyes and a blood vessel in your head or neck can pop out!

If you haven’t believed anything I have written in this FACTS 101 series, believe this one:

Sneezing too hard can give you broken ribs while trying to suppress a sneeze is not only futile but dangerous as your eyes or a blood vessel in your head can pop out – and you’ll be dead just like that!

This is not surprising as the average sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph – like a speeding car on a highway or a fired bullet, and the force of the air being expelled can crack your rick cage because that is where your lungs are.

“If you sneeze too hard you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. If you keep your eyes open by force they can pop out,” Soda Head wrote on its website.

This danger is there for everyone and scientists urged caution.

"You must be careful when you feel a sneeze coming because several people have been hospitalized after sneezing too hard. They end up with broken ribs, and ruptured necks in some cases," Prof. Sam Whaanda Samson, Director, Pulse University of Sneezing Disorders, explained.

"One unlucky fellow who tried to force his eyes open while sneezing had his eyes popping out of their sockets after the powerful sneeze”

The truth is, sneezing is rarely dangerous, thought it can be annoying for most people, especially when it comes with saliva spraying out of the sneezers’ mouth.

But this natural occurrence can cause problems sometimes.

“Sneezing while driving a vehicle is potentially dangerous, and sneezing can spread pathogens (organisms that cause disease), which is a source of danger to other people. Very rarely [not scientifically proven], in susceptible people a sneeze can cause a stroke or break bones,” says Anya of Alearned.com

In 2011, 37-year-old Salisbury driver named Brian David Evans was cruising when he was overcome by a "sneezing attack" and crashed the van into an oak tree. The passenger with him died, and Evans now suffers from six broken ribs in the hospital.

Next time a sneeze comes calling, remember all I just said!

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