Cough or sneeze? How the brain knows what to unleash

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

A sneeze-hickup combo is also _very_ painful.

I've done them in tight sequence but never simultaneously. Much more research is needed.

lol. Can related. The pain was shielded by the laughs I had after.

Tickling the roof of your mouth with your tongue also seems to stop incoming sneezes for a lot of people.

If your body says you should sneeze why do you think you know better? You probably have something to push out, no?