Can holding in a sneeze kill you?

<p><img alt="02-weird-facts-sneezing-482561024-Wavebreakmedia.jpg" src="https://www.rd.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/02-weird-facts-sneezing-482561024-Wavebreakmedia.jpg" style="width:717.362px;height:478.067px;" /><br /></p><div class="post-content"><h2 class="title">Health Tips : Can holding in a sneeze kill you?</h2> It’s always the worst time when that urge to sneeze hits—a quiet movie theater, an elevator packed with people, or right before you lean in you kiss your date goodnight. <p class="c18">There are just some times when you don’t want to spray snot all over the place. So is it safe to hold in a sneeze? We checked in with experts to find out what’s exactly behind your sneezing, and what can happen to your body if you try to snuffle one.</p> Why do we sneeze in the first place? <p class="c18">Sneezing is a complex physiological reflex. It occurs when you breathe in an irritating substance or particle, which passes through your nostrils into the lining of your nose.</p> <p class="c18">This triggers a release of histamine, irritating the nerve cells in your nasal lining that travels from your trigeminal nerve—which provides sensation to your face—to your brain, explains Dale Amanda Tylor, M.D., M.P.H., otolaryngologist at ENT Associates of Santa Barbara. (Nasal congestion or allergies can spark the release of histamine, too.)</p> <p class="c18">When your brain gets the signal, it activates your throat muscles, and tells your lungs to release a powerful burst of air through your windpipe, she says. This release of air occurs to push out the particles that are irritating your nose.</p> <p class="c18">"Sneezes are so powerful that [your snot can] travel the dimensions of a room and land up to 6 to 8 meters away," says Erich Voigt, M.D., clinical associate professor in the department of otolaryngology at NYU Langone Health.</p> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="text-align:center;height:200px;"><ins style="border:none;height:200px;margin:0;padding:0;width:1200px;background-color:transparent;"><ins style="border:none;height:200px;margin:0;padding:0;width:1200px;background-color:transparent;"><iframe style="width:1200px;height:200px;" width="1200" height="200"></iframe></ins></ins></ins> What happens if you hold in a sneeze? <p class="c18">All that pressure has to go somewhere.</p> <p class="c18">“If you keep the mouth or nose closed, the generated pressure will back up into your head (sinuses), nasal cavity, or down the throat back into the chest," says Dr. Voigt.</p> <p class="c18">"Suppressing the sneeze by holding the nose or mouth leads to a noticeable increase in pressure, about 5 to 24 times of that during a normal sneeze.”</p> <p class="c18">Still, snuffling a sneeze is so quick, so that rise in pressure is over fast. That means it can’t be harmful, right? Well, not exactly.</p> <p class="c18">"It’s kind of like saying that when Floyd Mayweather punches you, his glove is in contact with your face for only a fraction of a second,” says Ahmad R. Sedaghat, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School. “But because the force/pressure during that fraction of second is so high, it can do real damage.”</p> What are the health effects of holding in a sneeze? <p class="c18">That trapped pressure can be the reason that holding in a sneeze can be dangerous, he says.</p> <p class="c18">For one, your ears can be at risk. When you hold in a sneeze, air and pressure can travel up your Eustachian tubes—small passageways linking your throat to your middle ear—and cause your eardrum to rupture.</p> <p class="c18">"In the more severe case, instead of the air rupturing the ear drum, it leads to rupture of the delicate structures of the inner ear causing permanent hearing loss," Dr. Sedaghat says.</p> <p class="c18">The pressure of holding in a sneeze can also cause you to pop a small blood vessel in your eye, nose, or eardrum, but that’s very rare, says Dr. Tylor.</p> <p class="c18">It’s also extremely rare, but holding in a sneeze can cause the rupture of aneurysm, a condition where part of your artery wall weakens, causing a bulge.</p> <p class="c18">“With an aneurysm, a weak part of [a blood vessel in the brain] could rupture at any time, or never rupture at all—but a sudden change in intracranial pressure could cause it to rupture,” says Dr. Tylor. “That would probably less common than getting struck by lightning.”</p> <p class="c18">And before you freak out, the people most at risk of the serious injuries generally have health conditions that leave them more susceptible, like abnormal blood vessels, or have had recent sinus, vascular, or brain surgery, or a head, neck or chest injury of some kind, says Dr. Voigt.</p> Bottom line: Should you hold in your sneeze? <p class="c18">Let them rip: The function of the sneeze is to allow a release of pressure. If you hold it in, not only are you not allowing your body to do its job—clear out those nasal irritants—but you’re also putting your body at risk by containing that pressure.</p> <p class="c18">Still, if there is a time when you really don’t want to sneeze, you can try to stimulate your other sensory nerves, which can help block your sneeze reflex, says Dr. Tylor. By blocking it at that step, you wouldn’t be trapping any pressure.</p> <p class="c18">"You can sometimes prevent it by blowing the nose, or pressing on the region of the lip just below the nose, or rubbing the nose," she says.</p> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="text-align:center;height:200px;"><ins style="border:none;height:200px;margin:0;padding:0;width:1200px;background-color:transparent;"><ins style="border:none;height:200px;margin:0;padding:0;width:1200px;background-color:transparent;"><iframe style="width:1200px;height:200px;" width="1200" height="200"></iframe></ins></ins></ins> <p class="c18">And if you do sneeze, make sure you follow proper sneezing etiquette when it comes to spreading germs.</p> <p class="c18">"Covering with a hand, which most of us were taught as kids, is now considered outdated advice," says Dr. Tylor. "The name of the game now is sneeze into your elbow (which you don't use to touch things like doorknobs or tablet screens or keyboards) or to sneeze into a tissue and then wash your hands right after."</p> <p class="c18">It's not that this method diminishes your spray of saliva and mucus, but since you don't touch a lot with your elbow, you're essentially protecting others from viral or bacterial particles in your sneeze.</p> </div><p><br /></p>

Can holding in a sneeze kill you?

Health Tips : Can holding in a sneeze kill you? It’s always the worst time when that urge to sneeze hits—a quiet movie theater, an elevato...

Read more »

How to Exercise for Brain Health

<p><img alt="boost-brain-health_1-1024x808.jpg" class="irc_mi" height="603" src="http://watchfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/boost-brain-health_1-1024x808.jpg" style="margin-top:0px;width:561.259px;height:442.983px;" width="764" /></p><div class="post-content"><h2 class="title">How to Exercise for Brain Health</h2> <p>(CONSUMER REPORTS) You have many good reasons to become more physically active: Doing so can boost mood, help maintain a healthy weight, and keep muscles strong. Now a growing body of evidence suggests that workouts may have brain benefits as well.</p> <p>Much of the research on brain health and exercise is focused on aerobics. Yet a recent analysis from the University of Canberra in Australia found that certain nonaerobic activities can also help improve brain function in people over 50.</p> <p>“Even when people did have some level of decline already, they were actually able to improve their cognitive function,” says the study’s author, Joseph Northey, a Ph.D. candidate in sport and exercise science.</p> <p>We reviewed the most recent research to find tips on optimizing your exercise routine to help improve your brain health and keep your mind sharp.</p> Take a Brisk Walk <p>If you don’t exercise now, it’s easy to start. Just walk out your door and keep going.</p> <p>It’s fine to start small. Build up from 10 minutes walking a day until you get to at least 30, says Elissa Burton, Ph.D., a research fellow in the school of physiotherapy and exercise science at Curtin University in Australia.</p> <p>And if you can, pick up your pace. Getting your heart rate up will maximize the benefits to your brain, according to Helen Macpherson, Ph.D., a dementia research fellow at Deakin University in Australia. That means you should be exercising at an intensity where you start to find it difficult to have a conversation.</p> Do More Than the Minimum <p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that older adults get 150 minutes of this sort of moderately intense aerobic exercise each week, which is five 30-minute workouts. But the biggest boost in brain health in the Canberra study was linked to exercise sessions of 45 to 60 minutes.</p> <p>So try consolidating some workouts into a longer session. Or gradually work up to 45 to 60 minutes, five days per week.</p> Try Tai Chi <p>This Chinese martial art, which consists of slow, rhythmic movements, was one of several types of exercise tied to improved cognitive functioning in the recent Canberra study.</p> <p>Plus it’s low-impact, which can be good for people who haven’t been active in awhile, Northey says. It’s also easy on your joints.</p> <p>To learn the proper technique, it’s best to seek out a local class, Northey says. You can find instructors near you who are certified by the American Tai Chi and Qigong Association.</p> Resistance Training Can Help, Too <p>Resistance training, exercise that causes muscles to contract, is meant to strengthen, but it may also help protect against cognitive decline. And you don’t need weights or other equipment, Northey says. The CDC recommends resistance training at least twice per week. Here are three tips to get you started:</p> <p>Stand up, sit down, repeat. As long as you’re steady on your feet, try standing up from a chair without using your hands. Do this in sets of five or more anytime you find yourself sitting around the house.</p> <p>Make daily tasks harder. Choose stairs over elevators and escalators. You’ll get an aerobic workout and build muscle at the same time.</p> <p>Join a class. Northey’s study found that group programs incorporating resistance and aerobic training were beneficial for the brain. Check out the offerings at your local YMCA or senior center, and remember to talk with your doctor before you start any new exercise program.</p> </div><p><br /></p>

How to Exercise for Brain Health

How to Exercise for Brain Health (CONSUMER REPORTS) You have many good reasons to become more physically active: Doing so can boost mood...

Read more »