[HN Gopher] Cough or sneeze? How the brain knows what to unleash
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Cough or sneeze? How the brain knows what to unleash
        
       Author : gnabgib
       Score  : 38 points
       Date   : 2024-09-06 16:23 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nature.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nature.com)
        
       | tabtab wrote:
       | Once I coughed, sneezed, and farted at the same time. Very
       | painful.
        
         | IncreasePosts wrote:
         | In 12th grade physics class, a kid - J.B. - walked into the
         | room at the start of the class, silently held up his finger,
         | and then simultaneously sneezed, farted, and burped at the same
         | time. The 10 kids who were there already and the teacher gave
         | him a round of applause.
        
           | LoganDark wrote:
           | Presenting to the emergency room...
        
         | stuckkeys wrote:
         | lol. Can related. The pain was shielded by the laughs I had
         | after.
        
         | effdee wrote:
         | A sneeze-hickup combo is also _very_ painful.
        
       | quectophoton wrote:
       | > 'sneeze neurons' in the nasal passages relay sneeze signals to
       | the brain
       | 
       | Not sure if related, but I found that pinching my nose often
       | aborts an incoming sneeze.
        
         | iamjackg wrote:
         | Tickling the roof of your mouth with your tongue also seems to
         | stop incoming sneezes for a lot of people.
        
         | vasco wrote:
         | If your body says you should sneeze why do you think you know
         | better? You probably have something to push out, no?
        
           | adaml_623 wrote:
           | In a crowd. Holding a sleeping baby. Sneaking past a security
           | guard....
        
             | jrootabega wrote:
             | Mouth full of partially chewed carrot...
        
             | vasco wrote:
             | You always must sneeze into your chelidon / reverse elbow
             | so the crowd one I disagree. The other two you got me
             | there.
        
               | throwaway742 wrote:
               | Then you get snot on your shirt sleeve.
        
               | vasco wrote:
               | That's the point, instead of everywhere.
        
             | tetris11 wrote:
             | Despite Hideo Kojima's best efforts for realism, Solid
             | Snake never developed a hacking cough
        
           | rjh29 wrote:
           | Does that apply to the bowels too? The body isn't that
           | smart...
        
             | williamdclt wrote:
             | I mean, yeah? I don't really see a situation where it's
             | better to ignore your bowels wanting to push something out?
        
       | smusamashah wrote:
       | I can sometimes convert a cough to sneeze by blowing it out of
       | nose instead.
        
       | aklein wrote:
       | Speaking as someone with a current viral respiratory infection of
       | some kind that was just prescribed Benzonatate and Albuterol,
       | there needs to be a much more effective treatment for a bad dry
       | cough. It's pure misery.
        
         | e1gen-v wrote:
         | i sometimes get really bad bouts of chronic bronchitis for 3
         | weeks on end. There's no silver bullet but I really like Vic's
         | vapor rub, a humidifier, and ricola cough drops. To sleep, I
         | usually stack 2/3 pillows so my nose drains properly. When I
         | wake up in the middle of the night hacking, I sit in the shower
         | with a ton of steam.
        
           | iwontberude wrote:
           | One time I spent a lot of time in the shower and lost feeling
           | in my skin for over a year. I don't think it ever came back
           | fully to be honest. Just be careful to not fall asleep in a
           | shower.
        
       | throwawayffffas wrote:
       | Nose vs throat...
        
       | amelius wrote:
       | The sneeze neurons of some people are also activated when: eating
       | peppermint, eating dark chocolate, and looking into bright light.
       | 
       | https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/what-d...
        
         | odysseus wrote:
         | Looking into bright light and getting triggered for sneezing is
         | called the photic sneeze reflex.
         | 
         | I'm one of the 18% (?) of the population with it, and it is
         | hereditary.
         | 
         | I actually kind of like it, as if I need to sneeze all I need
         | to do is look at a bright light.
        
           | wruza wrote:
           | Is it relative brightness or absolute?
        
             | tetris11 wrote:
             | specifically sky, a bright screen won't trigger it
        
               | tomek_ycomb wrote:
               | It definitively works with bright lights, but intensity
               | seems important (maybe also spectrum.) I find only a
               | light that would hurt to stare at works
        
         | williamdclt wrote:
         | I use a friend as a test to know if chocolate is >85% cocoa as
         | it makes him sneeze (the occasion doesn't present itself very
         | often I'll admit). I think I have the sun one, but it's pretty
         | occasional
        
         | klyrs wrote:
         | Fun fact: the tissue in the nose is just like that found in the
         | penis and clitoris. When I get that feeling that I need to
         | sneeze, a light stimulation of the tip of my nose with a
         | fingernail is all it takes to guarantee satisfaction.
        
       | odysseus wrote:
       | Has there been any studies on whether it's better to hold in
       | sneezes (partially or fully) or let them fully out? I prefer
       | letting it all out and it's kind of messy but probably healthier.
       | My wife kind of keeps half of it in.
        
         | tharkun__ wrote:
         | Letting it all out just feels soooo good. Whenever I can, I do.
         | Like if I'm out in the garden by myself: no holding back. Lean
         | into it. So good!
         | 
         | The "holding your nose closed" some people do is actively bad.
         | You can blow up blood vessels that way. Not good if its the
         | wrong one.
         | 
         | Rubbing the nostrils if you are in a situation where you don't
         | want to sneeze works wonders in just: not sneezing at all. It
         | just goes away in 99% of the cases in my experience. And if
         | you're too late you can still sneeze into your elbow.
         | 
         | Which still let's a lot of droplets fly everywhere. Gotta find
         | that super slow motion camera video showing all the droplets.
         | When you sneeze, even into an elbow, do it such that whatever
         | inevitably makes it past the elbow goes down towards the floor
         | instead of up and into the room at least.
        
           | rjh29 wrote:
           | I can hold a sneeze without using my hands. I don't know if
           | it's harmful though.
        
             | tharkun__ wrote:
             | Anything that dissipates the pressure you are creating
             | "inside" is potentially harmful.
             | 
             | Compare how it feels. Holding it in, which I have done too,
             | you feel the pressure in your head. It has to go somewhere.
             | 
             | Out the front is definitely safest for you.
        
           | odysseus wrote:
           | Thanks, didn't know about the rubbing your nostrils trick.
           | Though sometimes I want to sneeze to get whatever triggered
           | it out.
        
           | odysseus wrote:
           | My wife just read this thinking (at first) you were talking
           | about flatulence.
           | 
           | We had a good laugh.
        
         | sph wrote:
         | AFAIK holding a sneeze (i.e. sneezing without letting it out)
         | is not that great for your circulatory system. You risk popping
         | a vein or something.
         | 
         | Either you manage to stop the urge, or let it out, possibly by
         | sneezing in your elbow or a tissue rather than in open air.
        
           | eddd-ddde wrote:
           | I can pretty consistently stop my sneezes. Never hold them
           | tho. I like to see it as training for the one time I have to
           | hide from a killer and I feel the urge to sneeze.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2024-09-07 23:02 UTC)