Sneezing usually occurs in response to nasal irritation, which triggers a reflex that expels air at speeds of about 150 Km/h. But new research has linked sexual thoughts in some people to sneezing, and it seems that the phenomenon may be more common than the medical profession previously realised.

The researchers who investigated the condition suggest that it might be caused by a faulty connection in the autonomic nervous system of susceptible people, which sends a signal to their nose causing them to sneeze when aroused.

Like other common triggers for sneezing, such as eyebrow plucking and sunlight, the condition could even run in families. And, although rare, the condition is thought likely be significantly underreported since sufferers might be embarrassed about discussing the issue with their Doctor.

Dr Mahmood Bhutta, a specialist in ear, nose and throat conditions at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, said:

It certainly seems odd, but I think this reflex demonstrates evolutionary relics in the wiring of a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system.

This is the part beyond our control, and which controls things like our heart rate and the amount of light let in by our pupils.

Sometimes the signals in this system get crossed, and I think this may be why some people sneeze when they think about sex.

Dr Harold Maxwell, a consultant Psychiatrist at West Middlesex University Hospital in London, was first alerted to the condition when a middle-aged male patient described “uncontrollable” fits of sneezing whenever he thought about sex.

Later, when Maxwell and his colleague Dr Bhutta set out to investigate how unusual the problem was, they could only find one similar case in the medical literature, a report from 1972, of a 69-year-old man who suffered severe sneezing after orgasm.

To get some indication of how common the problem was, the researchers scoured the internet for examples of conversations about sneezing and sex. This search identified 17 men and women who reported sneezing immediately after having sexual thoughts, and three people who sneezed after orgasm.

Dr Bhutta and Dr Maxwell wrote in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:

Although internet reports do not give us an accurate incidence of these phenomena, our findings do suggest that it is much more common than recognised

Further investigation in this field may help us to understand the sneeze reflex in more depth, and also allow us to give explanation and reassurance to the possibly significant number of people affected by this curious phenomenon.

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Posted by Jonathan in Psychology

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