Why Do So Many People Sneeze When They Look At The Sun?

Have you leave behind a dark movie theater of operations on a sunny day and fall into an unexpected fit of sneezes ? If so , you ’re not alone . A surprisingly enceinte bit   of mass have a foreign automatic reaction where a sudden increase in light volume causes them to sneeze .

It ’s actually a recognized condition sleep together as the photic sneeze reflex ( PSR ) or   – not joking   – ACHOO syndrome ( Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio - Ophthalmic Outburst ) .

It affect up to 33 percent of the US population , with 67 percentage of those being female and 94 percent being from Caucasian backgrounds , according toa discipline from 1995by the University of Alabama at Birmingham . Evidence also saysthe trait is partly genetical , so you may evenpick it up on a 23andMegenetic test outfit .

So , what ’s it all about ?

It ’s a dubiousness that even perplexed the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle some 2,300 years ago , when he posed the majuscule question : “ Why does the heat of the Sun provoke sneezing ? ”

The the true is , there is little in the way of life of hard scientific studies on the topic , since it ’s often seen as a humorous quirk rather than a debilitating illness .

Nevertheless , the leading theory enunciate that a typeface of the solar sneezes might be triggered by a minor bug in the trigeminal nerve . One of the largest cranial nerves , it   carries sensory information down separate   leg across the face under the eye , the nose , mouth , and jaw . A handful of sneezingabnormalities arecaused by foreplay to   the   trigeminal nerve terminalin the nasal pit ’s mucous - making tissue layer .

People with PSR might have a bit of " cross - wiring " in this area ’s mettle internet , do inadvertent signals to be trigger across when they should n’t be . The theory goes that bright light will make the pupils in one ’s eyes to press . This nerve signaling " by chance " excites the nerve nerve pathway , which prompts a stream of mucous a few centimeter away in the olfactory organ . This could be slip by the brain as an irritant and hence lead to a sneezing .

Some have plump even furtherto suggest it could be an evolutionary relic from ourcavemen ancestors . When living in a musty and stale cave with a smoky fervency burn , a sneeze when heading outside could be advantageous as it sack the airways from pathogen and foreign bodies . However , that ’s purely speculation .

The hard truth still remains unknown . But after find a eternal source of energy and curing all know diseases , those scientists well get to   puzzle out ACHOO syndrome .