• Question: Can you open your eyes when you sneeze? Why/why not???

    Asked by bf123 to Wei, Verity, Simon, Rebecca, David on 17 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Verity Nye

      Verity Nye answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      I can’t but some people can. Most of us can’t open our eyes when we sneeze because of a reflex that we have no control over; our eyes automatically shut when we sneeze. Some people don’t have this reflex, so when they sneeze their eyes don’t close (but they don’t pop out either!). I’ve read that you can train yourself to sneeze with your eyes open… but why bother?

    • Photo: Rebecca Handley

      Rebecca Handley answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I think what Verity has written is true. But when I was growing up there was always a rumour that if you sneezed with your eyes open the pressure would make them pop out! But it seems silly that we would have evolved that way, it’d be pretty funny if there were a ton of people walking around with their eyes hanging out of their head – or actually it might be pretty scary!

    • Photo: Wei Xun

      Wei Xun answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      There might be something about trying to protect our eyeballs when there are high speed gases and debris etc coming out from our noses, but who knows it must have been good to us at some point in evolution.

    • Photo: David Armstrong

      David Armstrong answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I have never tried but don’t think I can.

    • Photo: Simon Trent

      Simon Trent answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I think most people dont, but Im sure there is someone out there that can sneeze with their eyes open! Why is not so obvious. Maybe to protect the eyes from something?

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