We sneeze when our nasal mucosal membrane is swollen or the nerve ending is irritated. The irritation can be caused by anything, which may be a foreign substance or allergen. However, sometimes sneezing occurs when our optic nerve is exposed to bright light. Multiple sneezes or one single sneeze is a reflex of the human body to throw out any unwanted body out of the respiratory tract. In ancient times, people used to take a sneeze as a mark of danger that is to happen or a sudden death. Shouting or remarking ‘God Help You!’ has been a tradition since then. The Romans and the Greeks believed it as a sign of forthcoming miseries and thought that the lucky ones sneeze on the right while the unlucky sneeze on the left. According to the Bible, a sneeze signifies death. The Pope of the Church Gregory insisted on saying ‘God bless you’, when you or someone sneezes.
What Makes Us Sneeze?
