Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: sterling_glenn on 06/05/2005 23:02:44
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Sometimes when I am confronted with a sudden change in the brightness of light (for example, when I step outside a building on a sunny day) I sneeze. Sometimes I will achieve as many as three strong sneezes but this ceases as soon as my eyes adjust to the increased light. I know a few other people who have told me that they frequently have this experience, including my mother (genetic?). There seem to be many more persons in my circle of acquaintances who have never had this experience and, when I speak of it, they think me to be really quite mad. Is there a scientific explanation for this or, as some suspect, I am actually mad.
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Nope, quite common even. Same here, and have seen it in lots of others, too. Children have it strongest, somehow. Dunno about the scientific explanation for it - IANAD -, but it's certainly not madness on your part.
The living are the dead on holiday. -- Maurice de Maeterlinck (1862-1949)
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Hi Sterling. Welcome to the site.
Though I personally can't give you the physiological/biological answer , I can at least confirm this phenomenon. It's not rare, and in fact, if you have a sneeze that just won't happen then a good tip is to look at something bright ie: a light bulb (one that is on of course !!)....that ususally brings the sneeze to fruition. It certainlly does with me and a few people I have mentioned this too have also had success with it. It must be something to do with the ' wincing ' of the eyes. I don't think it's the actual brightness , but in fact that the 'light' acts as a catalyst.
Lets hope a passing 'bright light sneezing expert' comes forth with the explanation
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Finstagiber.net%2Fsmiliesdotcom%2Fcontrib%2Ficw%2F003.gif&hash=f326f525e3f6c60d4ea3ecbb24d1df2a)Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Finstagiber.net%2Fsmiliesdotcom%2Fcontrib%2Ficw%2F003.gif&hash=f326f525e3f6c60d4ea3ecbb24d1df2a)
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Hi Sterling welcome on board. Great bunch of guys and gals here, very friendly forum, hope you enjoy your stay.
I sneezed and thought I was diseased
A tissue is not a sneeze
It’s a request prior to a breeze
But Nasa’s Astronauts and their advisors
Found it leaves a mess inside their visors
gezondheid
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Great observation this, I too have it, and we're not alone...
That's because about 20-25% of people sneeze when they are exposed to bright light. The condition, if you can call it that, is referred to as the 'photic sneeze reflex'.
There have been numerous explanations as to why it occurs including bright light making your eyes water and the tears irritating the nose, but this is almost certainly wrong because the sneezing kicks in too fast for tears to be formed.
The US military carried out some studies on the photic sneeze reflex a few years ago because, obviously, it would be bad news for a fighter pilot travelling at 1000 mph to suddenly launch into a fit of sneezing.
Their studies found that photic sneezing runs in families, and so presumably has a genetic origin. It also seems to be a neurological phenomenon. Exposure to bright light triggers a number of changes in the eyes including blinking, and pupil closure (constriction or meiosis). Pupilloconstriction is controlled by the brainstem which is an interface linking the spinal cord to the rest of the brain and contains many vegetative control centres which co-ordinate breathing, heart rate, blood-pressure, arousal, sleep and dreaming, and many other functions. It's therefore likely that in people with this sneeze reflex there is a bit of crossed wiring in the nervous system and nerves linked to pupil constriction, or perhaps blinking too, connect also to the part of the brainstem that registers irritation in the nose, and the need to sneeze, triggering sneezing if the stimulus is sufficiently large.
Why should this be ? Well, sneezing is quite a good way to disloge foreign bodies from the eyes because it causes the tear ducts to go into reverse, blowing tears back into your eyes. Perhaps the eye interprets the irritation of bright sunlight as a foreign body, and this underlies the sneeze reflex ? I don't think anyone knows for sure.
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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Mmmm. Could it also work the other way around?
Once had a thing with a women who had not changed her pillows for a bit too long, and they were probably full of your ordinary housebugs (no joke, after two years quite a bit of the stuffing is dead/living housemites, yuck, but totally common), and I had the damnedest thing in the morning: I could scarcely see, as if my eyes had become allergic to light overnight! Took a few hours to wear off, even.
[we went out together to buy new pillows first thing, of course - sorry for all the gory details, but I think otherwise this makes no sense at all]
The living are the dead on holiday. -- Maurice de Maeterlinck (1862-1949)
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Chris
What a super and comprehensive reply!
Even I understand it now.
"You play ball with me, and I'll scratch yours"
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I believe that the nerve which stimulates sneezing is v close to the one that responds to strong sunlight..and thus bright light leads to sneezing.....
quote:
Originally posted by sterling_glenn
Sometimes when I am confronted with a sudden change in the brightness of light (for example, when I step outside a building on a sunny day) I sneeze. Sometimes I will achieve as many as three strong sneezes but this ceases as soon as my eyes adjust to the increased light. I know a few other people who have told me that they frequently have this experience, including my mother (genetic?). There seem to be many more persons in my circle of acquaintances who have never had this experience and, when I speak of it, they think me to be really quite mad. Is there a scientific explanation for this or, as some suspect, I am actually mad.
WT
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sneezing while looking at light is i supect an autonomic reflex to get your eyes closed and you head turned away from the light before your eyes are damaged
Giggidy Giggidy Goo
The philosopher Q man
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OK Guys--I am not trying to be immature or gross...but I have to find out something. I am 24 and a proud lifetime sneezer. Sunlight, lamp light, head lights..anything light can be used to instigate a sneeze or more often to draw out that sneeze that is just starting. I have been made fun of for stopping whatever I am doing and looking at light. In my peer group I think it is more like 5% of people who have PSR. NOW--My question is about my OTHER cause of sneezes that I have had as far as I can remmeber. This is no joke---so let's think about it: If I have "adult thoughts" or "sexually explicit thoughts" it makes me sneeze. This is not a constant thing (not every 10 minutes), but it happens I would say 10-12 times a week depending on where I am and what my GF is doing. My girlfriend thinks it is funny when I am lying in bed in the dark and she bumps into me a certain way---ACHOO!. It is like I have been caught!! Sometimes if I am in bed at night and have a sneeze coming on and she is in the way of the lamp all I have to do is touch her in some way that is arousing to me and ACHOOO!! For you scientists out there--there is no link with my PSR (perverted sneeze reflex haha) and physical arousal. No erection/heavy breathing anything at ALL...just the thought of something sexual. If I see something sexual like a Victoria's Secret photo on a billboard sometimes I'll sneeze and get smacked by my gf for sneezing. Please help and ask around if this is common. As far as I know, I am the only one, but one fo these posts suggested "too much stimulus in the nerves in the front your head getting signals crossed." so it may be that somehow. ANyone have any ideas??
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Could this be that one sensory area in the brain is overlapping with the other or linked to it in some way? Like people who see colours when the hear sounds etc
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Chris -
quote:
...and pupil closure (constriction or meiosis)
Does meiosis have 2 meanings? I thought it referred to the division of a gamete.
Brand new forum
http://beaverland.forumup.us/
More than just science
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People are actually allergic to things like water and sunshine, perhaps that's it.
Titanscape
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I've read that in some cases an orgasm can trigger a sneeze as well. I have the same sneezing response that you do, as well as PSR. I havn't read anywhere taht the two things are related though, but maybe.
quote:
Originally posted by kgw51gmc
OK Guys--I am not trying to be immature or gross...but I have to find out something. I am 24 and a proud lifetime sneezer. Sunlight, lamp light, head lights..anything light can be used to instigate a sneeze or more often to draw out that sneeze that is just starting. I have been made fun of for stopping whatever I am doing and looking at light. In my peer group I think it is more like 5% of people who have PSR. NOW--My question is about my OTHER cause of sneezes that I have had as far as I can remmeber. This is no joke---so let's think about it: If I have "adult thoughts" or "sexually explicit thoughts" it makes me sneeze. This is not a constant thing (not every 10 minutes), but it happens I would say 10-12 times a week depending on where I am and what my GF is doing. My girlfriend thinks it is funny when I am lying in bed in the dark and she bumps into me a certain way---ACHOO!. It is like I have been caught!! Sometimes if I am in bed at night and have a sneeze coming on and she is in the way of the lamp all I have to do is touch her in some way that is arousing to me and ACHOOO!! For you scientists out there--there is no link with my PSR (perverted sneeze reflex haha) and physical arousal. No erection/heavy breathing anything at ALL...just the thought of something sexual. If I see something sexual like a Victoria's Secret photo on a billboard sometimes I'll sneeze and get smacked by my gf for sneezing. Please help and ask around if this is common. As far as I know, I am the only one, but one fo these posts suggested "too much stimulus in the nerves in the front your head getting signals crossed." so it may be that somehow. ANyone have any ideas??
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Over the last three years there have been several threads on the Naked Scientists forum about photic sneezing. I mentioned in one of these intial discussions that some European “sufferers" had pooled what we could find about PSR on Photic sneezing resources http://www.photic-sneezing.fr.st/.
The idea of a link between photic sneezing and other stimuli producing sneezing has often been suggested by people writing to the site, and since it’s been up – about four years – I have had five or six people telling of sneezing just from having sexual thoughts and asking if it is connected to photic sneezing. Some of them claim to be photic sneezers but others do not. So it would seem to be rather more common than you might think.
If the source of photic sneezing is stimulation of the trigeminal nerve by “leakages” from the optic nerve, this will explain why people who are photic sneezers may also sneeze when rubbing their eyes, when plucking eyebrows or when putting in contact lenses (these have often been mentioned in correspondence to the site). But one of the instigators of the site realised that his photic sneezing occurred much more often after lunch than at any other time, and that if it was a heavy lunch, a PSR reaction was even more likely. This ties in with the sneezing on a full stomach phenomenon, also noted in the literature. Could it be that what is perceived as fullness of the stomach also gets through to the trigeminal nerve. And the same might happen in the case of sexual thoughts. So we really need an anatomist to tell us where these signals are all going. Any thoughts?
Martin
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Thats interesting and I will keep checking in as I am curious myself. I have had this happen not only with sunlight, but with florecent lighting also!.....Karen
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Thats interesting and I will keep checking in as I am curious myself. I have had this happen not only with sunlight, but with florecent lighting also!.....Karen
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quote:
Originally posted by martinH
Over the last three years there have been several threads on the Naked Scientists forum about photic sneezing. I mentioned in one of these intial discussions that some European “sufferers" had pooled what we could find about PSR on Photic sneezing resources http://www.photic-sneezing.fr.st/.
The idea of a link between photic sneezing and other stimuli producing sneezing has often been suggested by people writing to the site, and since it’s been up – about four years – I have had five or six people telling of sneezing just from having sexual thoughts and asking if it is connected to photic sneezing. Some of them claim to be photic sneezers but others do not. So it would seem to be rather more common than you might think.
If the source of photic sneezing is stimulation of the trigeminal nerve by “leakages” from the optic nerve, this will explain why people who are photic sneezers may also sneeze when rubbing their eyes, when plucking eyebrows or when putting in contact lenses (these have often been mentioned in correspondence to the site). But one of the instigators of the site realised that his photic sneezing occurred much more often after lunch than at any other time, and that if it was a heavy lunch, a PSR reaction was even more likely. This ties in with the sneezing on a full stomach phenomenon, also noted in the literature. Could it be that what is perceived as fullness of the stomach also gets through to the trigeminal nerve. And the same might happen in the case of sexual thoughts. So we really need an anatomist to tell us where these signals are all going. Any thoughts?
Martin
That all sounds very interesting! I have a comment to add, Im no specialist on the matter but my photic sneezing doesn't typically take place soon after I eat or anything close to iy. Perhaps a lot of people do so after lunch, because around noon time the sun is the highest in the sky, and also they've adapted to a dimmer lighting inside where they have been eating lunch. Thats just a thought though...
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Hi, I've just joined this forum after searching google to see if anyone else had sneezes related to light and sexual thoughts. I experience both and I noticed this thread mentions that others have experienced the same.
Similar to what 'kgw51gmc' below wrote, it seems to be a sexual thought rather than any actual physical sexual arousal that can (very instantly) trigger a sneeze. Most people have their own favourite sexual fantasies or scenarios and its when I think about mine that it happens, not just any vaguely sexual thought... but only when its the kind of thing that makes your heart beat faster. I find that, much like photic sneezes, I'll sometimes be more sensitive to them occuring than other times. At those times I can look at a light or think a really sleazy thought and.. aatCHoO!
To me it seems like crossed wires that occur when the trigeminal nerve is sensitive. It feels like it has to do with primitive parts of the nervous system - because the reflexes involved - sexual impulse, light, tickle in nose and, for some, food - are pretty animal in nature! I can't think of any use for it, seems like a glitch but one that might shed light (atchoo) on ways that the brain is wired..
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Hey folks,
I'm sitting here with a friend, checking around on the Internet - because I have for several years now, been "one of those" who instantly sneezes when thinking sexual thoughts and/or fantasies - generally (and unfortunately) in the company of the person to whom those thoughts are relating to! I was absolutely astounded when I found the couple of posts in this forum - they are exactly the same experiences that I have!
If anyone can shed some light (npi) on this subject, I would really like to learn more about it!! Thanks!
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Why is it that i have experienced on a full stomach that I have sneezed up to at least 10 times when my stomach gets full. I also sneeze when going out into the sunlight as well.
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I also suffer from sneezing at bright lights, sexual thoughts and after climax.
Bright lights are by far the most common cause, triggering the sneeze after a change in lighting conditions from dark/dim to bright.
Climax is probably the next most common cause in my case. It is also the most extreame causing the most sneezes (upto 5 or 6) when it occurs. It happens mostly after a "very good" climax. This happens as much in the pitch black (bedroom at night with curtains drawn) as does in the light.
Occasionaly I get a single sneeze from a very appealing sexual thought. For me this is no where near as common as the other reasons.
One observation I have, which I belive has not been mentioned here, is that the sneeze (in my case anyway) starts with a tickle in my nose. This may be important as it is a tickle that normaly tirggers a sneeze. Grabbing my nose when the tickle starts will stop the sneeze reflex, although the tickle may return when I let go of my nose.
There is another sexual/sneeze related trigger I have been told about by a female friend. When her and some of her friends were at an Ann Summers (sexy clothes, toys, etc for girls) party they had a techinque for decovering the vibrator thats right for you. You obviously can't try it in the "normal" way (not unless your a very friendly group). So you switch it on and place it against the skin under your nose. If you sneeze then that is the one for you. My firend confirmed that the technique made here sneeze and the product she purchased was the right one for her ;-)
I have also experimented on my self with other things that people have claimed make then sneeze. Food or eating a lot of food does not make me sneeze. Pain also does not make me sneeze. Eating some extreamly hot chillies makes my eyes and nose run but does not trigger the sneeze, so i think this (in my case) rules out the tears in the nose situation.
I will also bring into the thread the fact that some of the triggers are also related to pupil contraction/dilation. Sexual thoughts and climax are known to cause pupil dilation. This is a close link with the affect light has on the pupil.
My experience also seems to verify the "overloading" of nurves theory. As the more intense the trigger, the more intense the sneeze, and the greater the number of sneezes.
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This will really make you wonder.......I am a photic sneezer...and although I don't sneeze when I have a sexual thought or after I orgasm, I have a sneeze fetish. I am also gay, so this is definitely gender oriented. I get very aroused when a man sneezes. So there must be some link with the sexual part of the brain as well....any feedback. I've been trying to figure this one out for years...started when I was about 4 or 5. Even considering doing a human sexuality paper on it.......In need of much input/feedback....Todd
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Amazing!
Over the last four years or so the Photic sneezing resources site received only five or six inquiries about sexual stimuli and sneezing. Over the last three months there have been as many. And all note that they experience photic sneezing as well, whereas most of the early correspondents did not.
As was said, we really need an anatomist to look at this. I wonder if the quality of the myelin, the protective and conductive coating around the nerve, is different in those who have the reflex (no matter what sets it off), somehow transmitting the signal from one nerve to the other. So it may not be simply proximity of the optic and maxiliary nerve that does it.
Simon Alfie’s idea about the more intense the trigger the more intense the sneeze and the greater number of sneezes is interesting, but I think it depends on the individual. I’m lucky being able to observe photic sneezing in my father and my brother (and my grandfather, while he was alive), and one difference I’ve noticed is that I will sneeze far more if the light comes from both above and below – for example when sun suddenly shines on snow in winter (this spells danger while driving!) or sun on a wet road. This will also make my father and brother sneeze, but just the statutory two times they usually do.
Martin
Martin
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I just started researching this aggravating "condition" I've had all my life. Anyone had this experience? Some days I'll start sneezing and CAN'T STOP. I could take an entire bottle of anti-histamines with no effect. The only thing that stops it is if I go into a dark room and cover my eyes. It clears up in minutes.
One day I was attacked by this problem. It happened on a day I was performing in a play at church. Nothing was helping my sneezing and I was miserable. One of the other actors who was having pity on me began rubbing my neck and shoulders. My sneezing and congestion cleared up immediately!
I'm not a huge fan of chiropractors, but I'm thinking of trying to find one who can adjust me during an "episode" to see if it helps.
No man knows of what stuff he is made until prosperity and ease try him.
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Hi, just found this forum. I'm curious to know if I also have Photic Sneezing. In addition to sneezing in the morning (can be a succession of 5-10 sneezes at one time), I also sneeze when I feel pain, especially on my face.. like when I'm getting a facial or getting my eyebrows plucked. I also sneezed when I was getting a tattoo on my ankle and my eyebrows. All this time I thought I was allergic to dust or something. Grateful for the advice. J
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Interesting. Sounds like it could be possible. In the same way that plucking a nose hair makes your eyes water, "irritation" to the face triggers sneezing. In your case perhaps the receptive field - the trigger area - is slightly larger than just the immediate vicinity of the nose.
I have a strange bit of neurological crossed-wiring. If I pinch my chest just below and lateral to the nipple I also experience the pinch sensation on the outside edge of the elbow on the same side!
Chris
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I am also a Photic Sneezer, however I'll also sneeze after pulling out nose hairs. Usually I get the feeling I'm going to sneeze first but need to look into a light to trigger the sneeze, unless I have hayfever or a cold or something.
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Hi, I've just joined this forum after searching google to see if anyone else had sneezes related to light and sexual thoughts. I experience both and I noticed this thread mentions that others have experienced the same.
I'm another one who often sneezes at bright lights (whether the sun or artificial light), as well as sometimes sneezing in relation to sexual thoughts (but not always). I also sneeze when I eat mints - not always, but most of the time - and especially if they are very strong mints.
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I've had this condition all my life, although I only notice the sneezing pattern when I go from a dark area (like the shadow of a building) into bringt light. Some twenty years ago I developed my own theory of the cause. I think the sneezing reflex is activated by irritation to the nose, or more precisely, unexpected irritation to the inside of the nose. Specifically, when going from dark to light, my facial muscles are relaxed, but after entering a area of bright light I squint, the muscle reaction being so strong it affects (i.e. distorts the shape of) my nose. The changes in my nose move my nose hairs strongly enough to stimulate me to sneeze. For some reason, it usually takes two sneezes for me to return to an unstimulated state. It should be reasonably easy to test the idea- just figure out a safe way to trim all those hairs, then see if anything happens. It may be a little difficult to recreate the "unexpected" part. The nervous system seems to know how to suppress a reaction if it knows to expect a stimulus (you don't jump after you hear a loud noise when you expect it- say when watching someone use a hammer on an anvil. After I've sneezed (and after lunch inside, going outside into bright sunlight is a time when I notice it) in response to an initial dark/light transition, I don't continue to sneeze each time I go from dark to light (say for the rest of the day). My guess is the position of the nose hairs is altered enough that the condition does not seem to reoccur anytime soon. On occasion I've noticed that I sneeze in reaction to certain foods (spicey ones in particular), again preceeded by a reaction of my facial muscles. I think I've noticed that I can suppress the sneeze reflex by pinching/rubbing my nose, tricking my nervous system to first deal with a known stimulus, i.e. one that does not produce a sneeze response.
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The "photic sneeze reflex" is also called Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst Syndrome, known by the acronym ACHOO. It's true...
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LOL
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Hey. I just discovered this thread while doing google searches on my particular affliction. I have nothing more I can add, but just wanted to say that I also have a peculiar affliction wherein thoughts of a sexual nature, particularly those that "make the heart beat faster" as someone else put it, bring on bouts of uncontrolable sneezing sometimes. It doesen't occur when I'm intimate with someone or in a state of arousal, but if I'm in a normal state & begin thinking sexual thoughts, especially of a more intense nature, I start sneezing involuntarily. I'm 26 now and this has occured as far back as I can remember.
It has in no way handicapped me or really affected my sex life negatively that I can tell, but I always found my habit of sneezing whilst pondering things of an adult nature incredibly bizarre & while it's still obviously weird, I can't explain how relieved I am that others have experienced this, no matter how rare it is.
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Doctor doctor - when I sneeze, I get an orgasm.
Are you taking anything for it?
Yes, SNUFF.
I thank you.
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After a year long search to find out how much of a freak I am, it is quite amusing to see other people suffer in the same situations as me...
I too sneeze when i have sexual thoughts, but i cannot recall sneezing to any of the other stimuli that other people mention... light doesn't do it, full stomach doesn't do it etc and i don't sneeze after i orgasm... just when i am with someone and an explicit/or just cheeky sexual thought comes into my head.
I have very little warning, by the time i've noticed my nose starting to tingle i'm in the process of sneezing. It means you can't hide it, so it's lucky that only my previous girlfriend knows about it!
I so far haven't read a definitive proposal on here as to why just a thought should cause you to sneeze...
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Hi I would just like to say I also sometimes sneeze when I think of something sexual.
My symptoms sound exactly like what others before me have said on this post.
I think Theo is right on, I am no physician, but I assume that the light, sexual thought (and apparently other stuff like a full belly) stimuli are both related to the same fundamental cause, the "nerve confusion" thing or whatever.
It is just kinda funny because at first I thought I was imagining things, then I just thought it was a coincidence, but it appears other people have this weird sex idea/sneeze quirk.
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This is no joke---so let's think about it: If I have "adult thoughts" or "sexually explicit thoughts" it makes me sneeze.
I was about to add my two cents worth with a comment in essence identical to the quote. I've been aware of it for years and conclude that autonomic reflex pattern, controlling various states, coincide and begin "humming in harmony" linking otherwise unrelated activities together in common behaviour.
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I got a lot to add to the "Perverted Sneeze Reflex" discussion. I searched this subject because I too have this quirky trait.
For your consideration:
1)I experience this phenomena even in pitch black darkness with my eyes closed. So, How can it be a photic reaction?
2) I have a serotonin deficiency resulting in a bi-polar diagnosis. I have been told this has a direct effect of decreased nerve conductivity of electrons. Could this be involved in the PSR?
3)I have severe diabetic neuropathy to the point where I frequently suffer impotence. I can not see a connection between the "perverted sneeze reflex" and physical/organic sexual stimuli. I personally believe it is purely of a psycho-somatic cause; (naughty thoughts = single sneeze.) [:0]Aachoo--
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Hey, have you asked anything else before to the Naked Scientists?