Why do we sneeze?

Sneez­ing helps our body to get rid of poten­tial irri­tants such as dust and pollen, and it
also helps to clear our breath­ing passages.

A sneeze hap­pens when we feel a tickle behind the nos­trils: then a nerve in the nose sends a mes­sage to the brain. The brain informs the mus­cles of the abdomen, chest, diaphragm, vocal cords, throat, and even eye­lids to work together in just the right order to get rid of the irri­tants, through the amaz­ing mech­a­nism of the sneeze. Our chest mus­cles squeeze the chest with enough force to shoot air up from the lungs and out through the nose at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

Some­times bright light can make us sneeze-about one out of every three peo­ple sneezes when exposed to bright light. These peo­ple are called “photic” sneez­ers (photic means light), and this trait is hereditary.

An excerpt from the book “Why you shouldnʼt eat your boogers” by Francesca Gould