Holding back a sneeze may seem the polite thing to do during the flu season – but it can carry its own dangers, a surgeon warned today.
One man sought to control a sneeze by closing his mouth and holding his nose.
A little later the man, aged 34, was in hospital being treated for a rupture of the back of the throat, BMJ Case Reports reveals.
Head and neck surgeon Miss Wanding Yang, of the University Hospitals of Leicester, writes: “Halting sneezing via blocking [the] nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre, and should be avoided.
“It may lead to numerous complications, such as pseudomediastinum, perforation of the tympanic membrane, and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm.”
Snap, crackle and pop: when sneezing leads to crackling in the neck BMJ Case Reports 16 January 2018; doi 10.1136/bcr-2016-218906 [abstract]
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