Why Do Some People Sneeze in the Sun and Others Don’t?

Some people sneeze when they see bright light, like the sun, and others don’t. It’s called the photic sneeze reflex, and it happens because of a special nerve in your face called the trigeminal nerve. When someone with this reflex sees really bright light, their brain gets confused and tells them to sneeze! Not everyone has this nerve connection, so not everyone sneezes in the sun.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. Sneezing in sunlight can happen when someone with the photic sneeze reflex walks out from a dark room into the bright sun.
  2. Trigeminal nerve overexcitement might cause a person to sneeze after looking at a sudden flash of light, like a camera flash.
  3. Sneezing is triggered by the sudden change in light, even when no dust or pollen is around.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Comments (0)

Recent activity

Nothing here yet.