​The truth is obviously your body is trying to rid itself of some irritant. Many people sneeze more than once at a time. It is the body's way of removing a germ, an irritant or excess mucous from your nasal passages so you can breathe better. Sometimes it takes your body three or four sneezes to get rid of whatever the irritant or invader.

Some researchers believe that sneezing is your body's way of resetting itself. A sneeze is triggered by microscopic hairs lining your sinus passages and is trying to change the nasal environment back to its normal state.

And to dispel the myth many of us grew up with, as did I, your heart does not stop when you sneeze. Blood flow is constricted a little during a sneeze but it merely alters the rhythm of your heartbeat momentarily. Your eyes will close when you sneeze. That is an involuntary reflex that comes with the sneeze, not because your eyes can pop out. There is not enough velocity to do that to your eyes and therefore another old fable to be rid of.

Some people sneeze when they come out into sunlight or under bright light. My husband was very light sensitive and always sneezed three times when he walked out into the Florida sunlight. This is called photic sneeze reflex and was found to be hereditary in families. The noise you make when you sneeze also is different depending on the culture in which you were raised. It is a learned response that you hear in your childhood.

The fluids (and therefore germs if you are sick) released when you sneeze can travel more than 25 feet at a speed of more than 10 mph. Some things that can trigger a sneeze besides bright light as noted above, are sex and exercise, and of course allergies.

Don't stop a sneeze when you feel it coming. This can cause physical damage to yourself. A sneeze needs to escape and there is a reason for it. Don't block it as highly pressurized air must escape and if not could rip through soft tissue elsewhere. It can cause damage to the diaphragm, eardrums or even break blood vessels. Let it go.

Well this little blog cleared up a few old myths for me. Like they say, you learn something new everyday and we can all use some wisdom to combat these old fears and myths we grew up.

Have a great day and Safe Travels!

Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network