Man ruptures throat after holding nose and closing mouth during ‘forceful’ sneeze
Holding in sneezes can lead to 'numerous complications', doctors warn
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Holding your nose and closing your mouth while you sneeze might seem like a harmless thing to do, but doctors have advised against it following the case of a man who ruptured the back of his throat when doing so.
Ear, nose and throat specialists at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said trying to contain a forceful sneeze in such a way is not a good idea as it could lead to “numerous complications”.
Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, they described the case of a 34-year-old man, described as previously fit and well, who spent a week in hospital and was left barely able to speak or swallow after suffering spontaneous perforation of the pharynx.
They said the “unusual condition” is most often caused by trauma or sometimes by vomiting, retching or heavy coughing, so the patient’s symptoms initially surprised emergency care doctors.
He told them he had developed a popping sensation in his neck which immediately swelled up after he tried to contain a forceful sneeze by pinching his nose and keeping his mouth clamped shut at the same time.
He then found it extremely painful to swallow and could barely speak.
When doctors examined him they heard popping and crackling sounds, which extended from his neck all the way down to his ribcage, a sign that air bubbles had found their way into the deep tissue and muscles of the chest – later confirmed by a scan.
Because of the risk of serious complications he was admitted to hospital where he was fed by a tube and given intravenous antibiotics until the swelling and pain had subsided.
After seven days the man, who has not been identified, was well enough to be discharged with the advice not to block both nostrils when sneezing in future.
“Halting sneezing via blocking (the) nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre, and should be avoided,” the authors said.
“It may lead to numerous complications, such as pseudomediastinum (air trapped in the chest between both lungs), perforation of the tympanic membrane (perforated eardrum), and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm (ballooning blood vessel in the brain),” they added.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments