# Does staring at bright lights really help me sneeze? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018 "2008-08-14T19:18:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rikc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c57346/32.png) [@rikc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rikc)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/1 "2008-08-14T19:18:02Z")
Back when I was a kid I was told that if you are caught with a sneeze that just doesn’t want to happen, stare at a light and your sneeze troubles will be solved. And it worked! For most of my life, if I have ever had that itch in my nose I would just look at the sun or a lamp and sneeze. It’s easily one of the top conveniences I have in my life. In an effort to do my part in the fight against lingering sneezes, I’ve been sharing this secret with my friends, which has been met with skepticism. Some of my friends are just like me, bright lights totally help them sneeze. Others don’t feel it at all and just get mad at me. Does light actually help certain people sneeze? Why only some and not others? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/2 "2008-08-14T19:20:49Z")
Yep. There is a term for it - photo something, of course. Often, people grow out of it, but apparently not everyone. My son was the source of our discovery of the phenomenon. Whenever we’d take him outside, as a newborn, he’d sneeze, but only if the sun was bright. He did grow out of it in a matter of months. Yep, it’s real. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/3 "2008-08-14T19:21:36Z")
Some people [sneeze](http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/segment.php4?seg=154) when exposed to bright sunlight. Apparently there is some kind of cross-talk bewteen optic nerves and other nerves that can cause this. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/4 "2008-08-14T19:24:09Z")
Photic sneeze reflex: [a column from Cecil on the topic.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_303.html) I sneeze most times I step outside into bright light, have ever since I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/5 "2008-08-14T19:24:37Z")
ETA: Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Walter.P.Higgens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@Walter.P.Higgens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter.P.Higgens)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/6 "2008-08-14T19:26:30Z")
For about two months a year (one in the spring and one in the fall), I sneeze every time I turn a particular corner on my drive to work in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![rikc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c57346/32.png) [@rikc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rikc)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/7 "2008-08-14T19:28:26Z")
My “you are making that up” friends are furious right now, thank you! I feel like this only happens when I have a cold, I’ll have to pay attention to see if I sneeze during bright days when I’m not sick. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/8 "2008-08-14T22:41:03Z")
I often sneeze when entering a brightly lit area (like going outside on a sunny day). If I feel a sneeze coming on, I’ll turn to look at a bright light to help it - works most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![volleyballer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/22d042/32.png) [@volleyballer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/volleyballer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/9 "2008-08-14T23:17:37Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] I often sneeze when entering a brightly lit area (like going outside on a sunny day). If I feel a sneeze coming on, I’ll turn to look at a bright light to help it - works most of the time. [/QUOTE] yup, it’s real. An ophtalmologist told me it’s tears tickling the nerves that trigger the sneeze reflex. I sometimes get the same effect inhaling water from the ocean on a wipeout. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/10 "2008-08-15T00:49:32Z")
This happens to me _all the time_. It can make driving interesting early or late in the day, lemme tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-staring-at-bright-lights-really-help-me-sneeze/460018/11 "2008-08-15T02:54:30Z")
How many people not only sneeze when they walk out into bright sunlight, but actually sneeze twice? I do that about half the time.