The inescapable truth: you can't keep your eyes open when you sneeze!

When something tickles your nose, when you inhale a little pepper, or in the middle of a cold, sneezing becomes almost inevitable. The strong expulsion of air, liquids and foreign particles is the body's way of reacting to an irritant or substance that it wants to get rid of. The big mystery, of course, is that few people have seen themselves sneezing. For generations, there has been an urban legend that if you sneeze with your eyes open, your eyeballs will come out. This has since been proven to be untrue, but it does not provide a clear answer to the original question: Why can't we keep our eyes open when we sneeze?

Sneezing with your eyes open

Sneezing involves an involuntary reflex that closes your eyes.

The act of sneezing involves a lot of neural connections and muscle contraction throughout the body, causing involuntary actions in the intestines, sphincter, throat, sinus cavity and even the eyes, among other organs. This makes it difficult for the body to resist the instinct to close the eyes before sneezing.

It's possible to sneeze with your eyes open, but most people have to make a concerted effort to get past their own reaction to keep their eyes open, so it's far from impossible. It is simply uncommon.

The science of sneezing

Sneezing is the common term for what happens when the respiratory system expels unwanted particles from the nose, usually preceded by some kind of irritation or inflammation. However, the scientific term for sneezing is sneezing, which is the violent expulsion of particles, accompanied by audible exhalation from the nose and mouth.

These sneeze interruptions are closely related to the body's immune response, as well as the presence of histamine and other particles/chemicals associated with an allergic reaction in the body. When these chemicals are released, usually by inflammatory cells that detect an unwanted foreign substance, they send strong nerve signals, which are received and processed in the brain, causing a reflexive action, i.e. sneezing. This can be caused by common allergens, such as smoke, pollutants, chemicals, mucus, perfumes and a number of other particulate matter or irritants present in the air.

A sneeze moves your entire body

In the moments before and during a sneeze, many things happen in the body. At first, your chest muscles pull in preparation for a massive exhalation, then push the air upwards. Meanwhile, your throat closes, prompting air to pass through your nose at high speed. While many people are used to claiming that sneezing can travel at up to 100 mph — or even faster — the majority of expelled particles move at about 10 mph. However, a single sneeze can release up to 5,000 droplets, some of which are filled with bacteria (especially if the sneeze is caused by a cold).

Apart from those obvious physical actions that make up sneezing, there are also some involuntary reactions by the body. The muscle systems that affect the esophagus and facial muscles tend to flex unconsciously, and the sphincter usually contracts when the chest muscles push this huge amount of air, closing the eyes for a moment before sneezing. In fact, some sneezes may cause the eye to water. Closing the eyelids in preparation for sneezing is a physical reaction, and it's not a necessary aspect of sneezing. Experts have shown that some people can forcibly keep their eyes open without any harm or danger. In this case, why do the eyes close in the first place?

Big sneezing, compression and hurricane of the eyes

One of the most common explanations for closing the eyes while sneezing is that they are trying to protect themselves from everything that is expelled from the nose. Just as coughing aims to flush irritants out of the throat, sneezing expels irritants from the nose, including pollutants, perfumes, smoke, allergens and pathogens. The eyes are very sensitive mucous membranes where many of those same substances can cause problems or irritation. Basically, the body doesn't want a cloud of irritants to sneeze and immediately end up in the eye.

The strength of sneezing is also a factor in why eyes are closed. In preparation for sneezing, your facial muscles involuntarily tense, in preparation for strongly expelling air. The pressure in the sinus cavities is intense in seconds during sneezing, and although this force isn't intense enough to rip your eyes out of your head (as many stadium stories warn), it's enough to be painful, and may even cause capillaries or blood vessels in the eye to rupture.

Closing your eyelids before sneezing is likely a reflexive feature developed over thousands of generations, but it's important to remember that it's possible to sneeze with your eyes open. Either by keeping their eyelids open or simply by controlling the muscles enough to overcome the reflex, some people are able to witness the big (and dangerous) event of sneezing.

But, for your health, and for the health of others, we advise you to cover your mouth and keep your eyes closed; if you are really interested in what the "sneeze face" looks like, just flip the screen of your smartphone and take a video!