# The nature of sneezing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nature-of-sneezing/298982>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 12, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nature-of-sneezing/298982 "2005-04-12T16:00:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nature-of-sneezing/298982/1 "2005-04-12T16:00:07Z")

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I am in the midst of a cold right now, and the sneezing fits prompted me to ask this question. Is sneezing a defence mechanism of the body, or a reproductive mechanism of the virus?

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**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nature-of-sneezing/298982/2 "2005-04-12T16:39:47Z")

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> [@Fuji Kitakyusho](#):
>
> I am in the midst of a cold right now, and the sneezing fits prompted me to ask this question. Is sneezing a defence mechanism of the body, or a reproductive mechanism of the virus?

The former. After all, you sneeze for many reasons besides having a cold.

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nature-of-sneezing/298982/3 "2005-04-12T17:32:38Z")

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Both, if either.

The body evolved the sneeze to clear the airway when it’s irritated.

The virus evolved to irritate the airway because it facilitates getting spread.

The body has not evolved a sufficiently nuanced response to stop the sneezing mechanism if irritation is viral to save others from catching the cold. Really, this fine a detail ought to take s long to evolve that faster viral evolution finds a way around.

But to say these are the reasons the body and the virus did these things is anthropomorphizing them; neither has any plans or rational to the evolution, and we are also guessing as to what encouraged each feature to evolve.

Leastaways, that’s my take.