Well actually I've always believed that it is caused by the bright light making your eyes water, which then drains into your nose, causing you to sneeze.
On reflection I suppose the eyes watering under bright light could be genetic.
that's interesting :-) I am a male sneezer, and I've always thought that it's completely natural to have the "autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome" - what a name! So it really amazes me that this syndrome was described only in 1978 ;-).
err, if you look at the results please subtract one from 'female, and yes I do' and add one to 'female, and no I don't' because I accidentally voted for the wrong option. best,
Yeah, in fact, I too have had this concern. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to start with all boxes unchecked. Had I thought ahead, I should have reversed the order. Hopefully will keep it in mind next poll. Best,
This might as well be a bogus poll, but from its results Bee has successfully determined that the male:female ratio of the readership of this blog is about 7:1. Note that the first two options combined is equivalent to "I am male", while the third and fourth together is nothing but "I am female".
And I wonder if the small number of people who chose the 5th are confused about sneezing or their sexual identity?
Hi Chickenbreeder, well, yes, I admit you've found out the actual reason for the poll... but probably one should rescale it to 'people who do polls on blogs' not to readership in general. Best,
They should also have a button for those who hit the "vote" button before choosing a box because they expect to get a choice afterwards.
Maybe the best way would be to have the top, default, choice be a null or invalid choice.
10:08 PM, November 14, 2007
Adhib said...
This was one of the frustrating mysteries of my childhood. Adults could not explain why I was suffering this patently useless reflex. It was only as an IT serf in a publishing company that I finally encountered the concept of 'cross-traffic' in data cabling - sudden bursts of data along one cable lying next to another underinsulated cable and ... ka-boom!
9:35 AM, November 15, 2007
vinouz said...
That's funny because I have a different reflex of the same kind. Whenever something titillates my ear, like a cotton swab, I feel an almost irrepressible urge to cough !
That's weird, but funny.
5:39 AM, November 23, 2007
Courtney Alyse said...
I am female and i have always had this. photic sneeze thing. it NEVER fails! sometimes i look outside just to get it over with. it seems to be more common in males. I hope they find out what exactly does cause it. i do indeed believe it is more so because of the crossing btw the 5th cranial nerve and the optic nerves. like every other dysfunction.. its mostly genetic
9:31 PM, June 08, 2008
Anonymous said...
I'm male and sneeze, my brother and father are also sneezers, but both of my male children (now teenagers) are sneezers. As it turns out, I did not discover my sneezing at the sunlight until I was a late teenager. Hmmm....
My sister does not sneeze. Maybe male/female. Also, the vote button didn't work just now.
its the opposite of a yawn.. only natural light is the sun. its brain telling our pack that we're awake now.
Mine only sneezes when i see the light at the top of my retinas. -osearth
6:29 PM, April 15, 2012
Do you have to sneeze when looking into bright sunlight? Involuntary sneezing when being exposed to bright light after adapting to the dark is called the photic sneeze reflex. The syndrome was first described in 1978, and seems to be much more common than has been generally recognized. It is believed to be inherited, but identification of the specific genes involved has not been made yet. If you want to sneeze for science, you can do so at UCSF.
And no, I don't.
posted by Sabine Hossenfelder at 8:23 AM on Nov 13, 2007
"Photic sneeze reflex"
18 Comments -
why pink?
9:24 AM, November 13, 2007
I have my girly moments.
9:25 AM, November 13, 2007
Well actually I've always believed that it is caused by the bright light making your eyes water, which then drains into your nose, causing you to sneeze.
On reflection I suppose the eyes watering under bright light could be genetic.
10:12 AM, November 13, 2007
Dear Bee,
that's interesting :-) I am a male sneezer, and I've always thought that it's completely natural to have the "autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome" - what a name! So it really amazes me that this syndrome was described only in 1978 ;-).
Best, Stefan
11:37 AM, November 13, 2007
Maybe it's a guy thing. I don't do that either.
11:51 AM, November 13, 2007
err, if you look at the results please subtract one from 'female, and yes I do' and add one to 'female, and no I don't' because I accidentally voted for the wrong option. best,
B. (confuzzled)
1:08 PM, November 13, 2007
Coincidentally, the How-to of the day is
How to Stop a Sneeze
1:10 PM, November 13, 2007
Hi Bee,may be it's inherited. Your mum also doesn't sneeze. Did not yet ask your brother!
Best Mum
6:11 PM, November 13, 2007
Shouldn't there be an entry for "I like to push the top button in polls."
8:08 PM, November 13, 2007
Hi Carl,
Yeah, in fact, I too have had this concern. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to start with all boxes unchecked. Had I thought ahead, I should have reversed the order. Hopefully will keep it in mind next poll. Best,
B.
8:16 PM, November 13, 2007
This might as well be a bogus poll, but from its results Bee has successfully determined that the male:female ratio of the readership of this blog is about 7:1. Note that the first two options combined is equivalent to "I am male", while the third and fourth together is nothing but "I am female".
And I wonder if the small number of people who chose the 5th are confused about sneezing or their sexual identity?
2:31 AM, November 14, 2007
Hi Chickenbreeder, well, yes, I admit you've found out the actual reason for the poll... but probably one should rescale it to 'people who do polls on blogs' not to readership in general. Best,
B.
10:00 AM, November 14, 2007
They should also have a button for those who hit the "vote" button before choosing a box because they expect to get a choice afterwards.
Maybe the best way would be to have the top, default, choice be a null or invalid choice.
10:08 PM, November 14, 2007
This was one of the frustrating mysteries of my childhood. Adults could not explain why I was suffering this patently useless reflex. It was only as an IT serf in a publishing company that I finally encountered the concept of 'cross-traffic' in data cabling - sudden bursts of data along one cable lying next to another underinsulated cable and ... ka-boom!
9:35 AM, November 15, 2007
That's funny because I have a different reflex of the same kind. Whenever something titillates my ear, like a cotton swab, I feel an almost irrepressible urge to cough !
That's weird, but funny.
5:39 AM, November 23, 2007
I am female and i have always had this. photic sneeze thing. it NEVER fails! sometimes i look outside just to get it over with. it seems to be more common in males. I hope they find out what exactly does cause it. i do indeed believe it is more so because of the crossing btw the 5th cranial nerve and the optic nerves. like every other dysfunction.. its mostly genetic
9:31 PM, June 08, 2008
I'm male and sneeze, my brother and father are also sneezers, but both of my male children (now teenagers) are sneezers. As it turns out, I did not discover my sneezing at the sunlight until I was a late teenager. Hmmm....
My sister does not sneeze. Maybe male/female. Also, the vote button didn't work just now.
4:12 PM, April 25, 2009
its the opposite of a yawn.. only natural light is the sun.
its brain telling our pack that we're awake now.
Mine only sneezes when i see the light at the top of my retinas.
-osearth
6:29 PM, April 15, 2012