[queenzb78]

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.

[simon_alfie]

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.

[ToddTampa1]

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

[martinH]

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

[tomboymom]

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.

[jessie]

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

[chris]

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

[Grandmaster]

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.

[Vickster69]

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.

[blackcloak]

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.

[paul.fr]

The "photic sneeze reflex" is also called Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst Syndrome, known by the acronym ACHOO. It's true...

[Karen W.]

LOL

[DustinR]

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.   

[lyner]

Doctor doctor - when I sneeze, I get an orgasm.
Are you taking anything for it?
Yes, SNUFF.
I thank you.

[JimmyScot]

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...

[Grouphug1111]

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.

[wannabe]

  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.

[Sneezy]

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--

[emcalcuadrado]

Hey, have you asked anything else before to the Naked Scientists?