# Sneezing at bright light **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696 "2005-12-21T22:40:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/1 "2005-12-21T22:40:38Z")
This may sound a wee bit odd, but it seems like bright lights (sunlight, bright indoor light, etc.) causes me to sneeze. Am I just imagining things or am I actually allergic to something else in the environment? Does anyone know of anybody else who sneezes at bright lights?? ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/2 "2005-12-21T22:46:36Z")
Cecil’s column on the subject: [Why do some people sneeze when going out into bright light?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_303.html). I do it too. Two sneezes right after going out into the sunlight, nearly without fail. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/3 "2005-12-22T00:13:23Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Cecil’s column on the subject: [Why do some people sneeze when going out into bright light?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_303.html). > > I do it too. Two sneezes right after going out into the sunlight, nearly without fail. Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/4 "2005-12-22T00:16:22Z")
I am a quasi-light sneezer. A bright light (esp. the sun) on its own will not make me sneeze, but if I feel the twinge of a sneeze starting to come on, a bright light will make it come quicker, and more violently. I LURVES me some loud, violent, snot-spewing sneezes. They’re so…satisfying. Almost like a mini-orgasm for your nose. 😛 What I hate, however, is getting that twinge…but no follow through. Which is why whenever I feel a sneeze coming on, I try as best I can to stare at a bright light to make sure it finishes. And lately, I’ve been having more and more “near-sneezes” that even a bright light won’t let finish. Makes for an angry bouv! :mad: (Can you get blue balls for your face?) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/5 "2005-12-22T00:21:19Z")
Same here. But only if a sneeze is coming on. The opposite, the ‘bless you’ before I sneeze (while I’m ‘winding up’) stops it dead in it’s tracks. Very weird. I finally got my Wife to stop doing that. Used to be very annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/6 "2005-12-22T14:58:25Z")
I’m not a photic sneezer, but I also hate unrequted blowouts. Whenever I recognize the symptoms of a sneeze-that-might-not-be, I’ll usually pinch the bridge of my nose between thumb and forefinger while applying some downward pressure – right on the cartilage where it meets bone. This seems to help coax the sneeze out when it might otherwise be reluctant. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/7 "2005-12-22T15:05:17Z")
[Cecil’s take, from an old column](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_303.html). Rip, you’re not alone by a longshot. Both me and my daughter do it, too. I am especially sensitive – a not-all-that-bright indoor light can trigger a sneeze, too, if I start off in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/8 "2005-12-22T16:51:08Z")
I have this reaction also, but only when going from semi-darkened conditions into bright sunlight. I was told a long time ago that it has something to do with capillaries in the nose dilating quickly, and that seemed to make sense. I guess there may be additional factors. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/9 "2005-12-22T17:31:06Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > I do it too. Two sneezes right after going out into the sunlight, nearly without fail. ditto. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/10 "2005-12-22T17:51:03Z")
Hahaha, I have PSR too and I also use the lights to coax out a sneeze! PSR disqualifies you from becoming a fighter pilot, btw. Shattered my childhood dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/11 "2005-12-22T18:04:00Z")
'Nother PSR guy here. Not always, but often I will sneeze when walking out of a dark building and into the bright sun. This usually only instigates ONE sneeze, whereas a ‘normal’ sneezing routine will cause three to jump out. ---
**Author:** ![rpinrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@rpinrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rpinrd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/12 "2005-12-22T18:36:54Z")
I’ve got it too. Just curious - is it mostly a male thing? I’m male by the way. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/13 "2005-12-22T19:55:35Z")
> [@rpinrd](#): > > Just curious - is it mostly a male thing? I’m male by the way. Dunno. My daughter inherited it from me, so that’s one. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/14 "2005-12-22T20:55:10Z")
I do it. I think my mom does too. It’s only a problem when I’m driving if it’s early or late in the day, though, otherwise it’s just annoying. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/15 "2005-12-22T21:12:26Z")
Say, my son had this condition from the day we brough him home from the hospital, but he quickly grew out of it - in a matter of months, I seem to remember. Have the people who have this condition now always had it? Or is it also an adult onset type of thing? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/16 "2005-12-22T21:27:51Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Have the people who have this condition now always had it? Or is it also an adult onset type of thing? I’ve had it as long as I can remember. My daughter has had it for all of her 2 1/2 years. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/17 "2005-12-28T09:24:02Z")
When I was little my Mum would tell me to look at a bright light if I felt a sneeze coming on (to avoid the let down of non fulfilled nose tingle I guess). But spontaneous sneezing coming out into a bright light, nope. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-at-bright-light/336696/18 "2005-12-28T17:37:12Z")
There were a couple of guys I worked with a few years back, and the three of us would go to lunch together fairly regularly. As soon as we walked out of our building into the parking lot, one of them would start counting “One… two… three” and almost as if on cue, the other guy would immediately start sneezing. 😃