The most famous rumour which is going on in 2015 is that we should not sneeze with our eyes wide open, unless you want your eyes to pop out. According to Alan Wild, a head and neck surgeon and assistant professor of otolaryngology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine says, “I wouldn’t recommend suppressing a sneeze by any method, whether by pinching one’s nose or consciously sneezing into a closed throat.”

Furthermore, keep in mind that restraining the urge to sneeze and trying to stop a sneeze in progress are two different things. Wild said, “Rubbing the nose, breathing forcefully through the nose, and pressing on the upper lip below the nose may relieve the urge to sneeze, but once the sneeze starts, it is usually best to just let it go.”

What will happen if you do not allow yourself to sneeze?

“The injuries that might occur are flukes or are related to some underlying anatomical oddity. “

However, you can never be sure whether you may be encountering one of the following unlucky cases. According to Wild holding in a sneeze may lead to many unhealthy and unwanted situations. A blocked sneeze could:

1. cause injury to the diaphragm
2. break a blood vessel in the white of the eye which could form bruises of the white part around the iris
3. force air up the Eustachian tubes in your ears and cause burst your ear drum or an injury to the inner ear that could lead to vertigo or hearing loss
4. weaken the blood vessel in the brain making it rupture due to fleeting elevation of blood pressure

“The risk of an injury is low but you might just be the unlucky one,” Wild further on states, “Some also are concerned that stifling the sneeze is just a temporary outcome that whatever provoked the sneeze is still present and will cause another sneeze shortly.”

Aggressive sneezing can also cause a lot of health issues within an individual, such as:

1. A violent sneeze by a person who had sinus surgery can force air into the space around the eye and cause it to bulge, or push air into the brain cavity causing an intense headache or even worst, a stroke.
2. Aggressive sneezing can also cause a neck injury.
3. Also, cause a momentary incontinence that is loss of bladder control.

Some sneezes still leave doctors baffled and many of them believe that sneezing is important to get rid of particles of pollution or allergens from our noses.