Moms, did you know that suppressing a sneeze isn’t good for your kids? Actually, it’s not a good thing for anyone of any age to hold back their sneezes!
Why is suppressing a sneeze bad for you?
Some people have acquired a habit of holding back their sneezes. This is especially true when they are in public since it can sometimes be embarrassing. However, it’s much better to live with embarrassment rather than experience the potentially dangerous results of suppressing a sneeze.
A 34-year-old man from Leicester, England, was rushed to the emergency room with a swollen neck, and in extreme pain.
Doctors reported, “The patient described a popping sensation in his neck after he tried to halt a sneeze by pinching the nose and holding his mouth closed.”
When the doctors did a CAT scan of the patient, they discovered that the force of the suppressed sneeze had torn open the back of his throat.
The man was fed through tubes since he was unable to swallow. He was also given antibiotics until the swelling had subsided.
Holding in your sneeze isn’t a good idea
If you think that what happened to the man is a freak accident, then think again. Did you know that a sneezing causes air to fly out of your nose at approximately 100 miles per hour?
Holding a sneeze in means that all that pressure is built up in your air passages, and can have the potential to not only damage a person’s throat, but also burst an eardrum, or, in the worst case, pop a blood vessel in your brain.
Diaphragm injuries, ruptured blood vessels in your eyes, and weakened blood vessels in the brain can also result from holding back a sneeze.
And while it’s true that the chances of these happening are relatively low, constantly holding back sneezes over an extended period of time can potentially increase the risk of you or your child getting hurt.
So the next time your kid is going to sneeze, just give them a tissue or a handkerchief and tell them to not hold back!
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
Photos from: flickr.com
READ: 4 Dangerous diseases that can easily be mistaken for the common cold