I have heard from various sources over the last 15 years that looking at a bright light can make one sneeze. It has never worked on me, even when I could feel a sneeze welling up.
I even had an aquaintance who would sneeze when leaving a building (every time!)…because of the light, he said.
Has anyone else heard such a claim? Is this a UL? Does this work for anyone? Has this ever been asked before?
I’ve heard of the phenomenon. The explanation I’d always heard was it was a byproduct of squinting.
Entering an area with bright light causes you to squint, and you pinch up your face in a way that causes hairs within your nose to touch or mildly irritate one another. Hence, you sneeze.
“Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known” - Michel Gyquem de Montaigne
I believe Cecil touched on this in one of his articles without giving a complete answer. I’ve heard 2 theories both of which are a little flakey.
It protects the retina from being burned by the sun. It’s supposed to be impossible to keep your eyes open when you sneeze so a bright light causes you to sneeze and therefore close your eyes.
Today a doctor spanks a baby to make it cry and clear the lungs of fluid. Before doctors, the baby would sneeze upon entering the world and clear its lungs.
Cecil on the photic sneeze reflex and the thread about it in Comments on Cecil’s columns .
NYC IRL III
is on April 15th. Do you have what it takes?
“I have heard from various sources over the last 15 years that looking at a bright light can make one sneeze.”
That sure makes me sneeze… I used to joke that I am allergic to sunlight.
I have also found that I can sneeze on demand! If I pinch the bridge of my nose just at the spot where the hard part meets the soft pockets (way up near where my glasses rest) repeatedly, I can produce a sneeze almost every time. It’s sort of nasal masturbation (that looks even funnier in print then when I say it!).
Anyone else around who can sneeze on cue?
Add me to the list of photic sneezers. Cannot sneeze on cue, though. Not into nasal masturbation, sorry.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.
Delta-9 Home Page
I also will sneeze in bright sun or bright artificial light. I do not think it is because of the squinting because if I feel a sneeze coming on I will look at a light consciously keeping my eyes wide open and it still works.
John
Then he got up on top
With a tip of his hat.
“I call this game FUN-IN- A-BOX”
Said the cat.
-The Cat in the Hat
Me too. I sneeze when looking at bright light or when exiting a building. If I feel a sneeze coming on, I will also usually look at a bright light to get it over with.
Well, either you’re closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge or you are not aware of the power of the presence of a pool table in your community. Ya’ got trouble my friends! -
Prof. Harold Hill
Gary Conservatory
Gold Medal Class
'05
Count me in on sneezing at light (damn light 
). When I have to sneeze, and I use the light to “get it over with”, it actually helps if I don’t squint at all. I force myself to keep my eyes wide open.
I sneeze when I look up at the sky on a bright day, too…
have you ever taken Visine, or some other eye medicine, then a minute later, you can taste it?
The photic sneeze works the same way, as far as I can tell… looking up causes your eyes to water, and since your head is tilted back, the tears run down into your nose, and that’s what causes the sneeze.
I’m sure someone else could come up with a slightly more clinical explanation for what I just described…
I don’t suffer from insanity…
I enjoy every minute of it!
Hey, let me join the photic sneeze club. It works for me every time. I sneeze two or three times when leaving any building, then entering sunlight. My father, and little brother also have this condition.
“Life is hard…but God is good”
Me, too. Friends and coworkers find it endlessly amusing, too.
AAAACHOOOOO! The sun came from behind a cloud. Yeah, that’s me. Photic sneezer. My oldest doesn’t seem to have inherited the trait (she’s almost 7 years old), but my baby sneezes occasionally when I am. From my experience it slowly gets worse with age. I’ve been a double sneezer for about 15 years, but recently I’ve had some triple sneezes. When I was a kid, it was single sneezes for me.
Me too.
I’m constantly amazed at the connection between what goes on with our eyes and our nose(s).
Ever scratch or irritate an eyeball? Does your nose then start to run? Mine does. In fact, it’s doing it right now. Scuse me.
yeah…
you ever blown your nose and your eyeballs pop out?
not pleasant getting them back in!
To he who has lost his hope:
Please claim it at the lost and found at the front desk.
Thank you
Thank you all shedding that light on this subject…and bless you! (hey, c’mon, that was funny)
People told me about this and I thought they were crazy, but now I understand that you’re all FREAKS OF NATURE!
Being of a scientific bent, and a long-time photonic sneezer, I gave this some attention. First off, the squinting theory is bunk. It works much better for me with my eyes wide open. Also, it seems to be triggered by the transition from dark to light, not just light itself. All you fellow photo-sneezers, try looking at a light source and waving your hand in front of your eyes. The light-dark-light oscillation is an amazing sneeze inducer (sneezeducer?) Works wonders for me.
I know. I hate that when you’re already out in the bright light and something tickles your nose (pollen or smoke or something) and you try to look toward the sun for some help with the sneeze but it won’t work. I’ll have to try playing peek-a-boo next time and see if that works.