chemical that makes us sneeze

[rakuenso]

for example, when you take a whiff of pepper you sometimes sneeze? any idea what chemical is responsible for this?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I think it's just getting little bits of pepper up your nose that does the trick. The nerves in the nose recognize that there are foreign objects in there and trigger a sneeze to get them out.

[rakuenso]

so why only pepper?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I'm sure if you've ever inhaled something like sawdust or just any major cloud of dust, you'd experience something similar. Pepper is light and can make neat little clouds, so that probably makes it especially good for sneeze-triggering.

 

Salt, for example, is heavier and doesn't float in the air easily, so it wouldn't make you sneeze.

[frostbite]

I think it's just getting little bits of pepper up your nose that does the trick. The nerves in the nose recognize that there are foreign objects in there and trigger a sneeze to get them out.

 

yes.. your right..

 

hey rakuenso,

 

i think its a natural tendency of the body to react that way. it gets irritated by the foreign body (pepper). and since it is a spice, it has a strong effect on the on our senses. i tried searching over the net and found something (i just don't know if its the right one). pepper has an alkaloid called piperine which is responsible for its use as a spice. maybe this causes the irritation. but still i'm quite certain about the reaction thing.. i believe this is the same with reverse peristalsis.

 

i hope i helped.. i'm not really certain about my answers but atleast i tried. if you guys found some misinterpretations please tell me so as i won't make the same mistake again. thanks!!

[jdurg]

Vitamin D is also known to elict a "sneeze" reponse in the human body. This is why if someone who is kind of deficient in Vitamin D steps out into the sun they'll suddenly sneeze. (As the exposure of your skin to UV rays initiates the production of Vitamin D in your body).

[Skye]

The particular sneeziness of pepper is mainly caused by an alkaloid called piperine. It's an irritant and this is also what gives it the hot sensation when you eat it. It's similar to capsaicin in chilli peppers.

[thief75]

Vitamin D is also known to elict a "sneeze" reponse in the human body. This is why if someone who is kind of deficient in Vitamin D steps out into the sun they'll suddenly sneeze. (As the exposure of your skin to UV rays initiates the production of Vitamin D in your body).

 

Do you have any more information on this? I have always sneezed when I walk out into bright sunlight or flouresent lights. Since I was a child I have done this and my children do as well, so I think it may be genetic. I don't believe us to be Defecient in Vitamin D either, we alway drink plenty of milk plus vitamin reenforced OJ and multivitamins.

[Animal]

Vitamin D is also known to elict a "sneeze" reponse in the human body. This is why if someone who is kind of deficient in Vitamin D steps out into the sun they'll suddenly sneeze. (As the exposure of your skin to UV rays initiates the production of Vitamin D in your body).

 

More info? For me, if I feel like I'm going to sneeze but it just won't come out I either look towards the sun (not at it..) or I look at a lightbulb and it helps me to sneeze. That couldn't have anything to do with a vitamin d deficiency though.. Could squinting have anything to do with it..? I'll look into it.

[frostbite]

vitamin D? really? whoah!! i didn't know that! thanks!! um.. just one question.. how will you know that you are having a slight or your quite deficient in Vitamin D?

 

hehe... sori 'bout the silly question.. hehe!! i already forgot my health lessons!! wakeke!!

[alice]

So am i vitamin deficient? i always sneeze in the morning. But i wasn't under the sun. I usually sneeze after i wake up and after i take a bath, or when i'm in the bathroom. Can you tell me why it's happening? is it the vitamin d? or something else?

[Darkblade48]

Do you have any more information on this? I have always sneezed when I walk out into bright sunlight or flouresent lights. Since I was a child I have done this and my children do as well, so I think it may be genetic. I don't believe us to be Defecient in Vitamin D either, we alway drink plenty of milk plus vitamin reenforced OJ and multivitamins.

You might want to look up the "Achoo syndrome" for more information.

[jdurg]

In reality, everybody becomes momentarily deficient in Vitamin D during the night. Exposure to UV rays, and various other wavelengths of light, induces the body into the production of Vitamin D. It's this sudden change in concentration in the body that has been known to make people suddenly sneeze. So if you are inside a dark room all night, then you wake up and go outside into the sun, that sudden exposure will tend to make people sneeze. Just because you sneeze doesn't automatically mean that you are Vitamin D deficient. It just means that at that moment in time you had a sudden increase in Vitamin D production which led to the sneeze.

[alice]

In reality, everybody becomes momentarily deficient in Vitamin D during the night. Exposure to UV rays, and various other wavelengths of light, induces the body into the production of Vitamin D. It's this sudden change in concentration in the body that has been known to make people suddenly sneeze. So if you are inside a dark room all night, then you wake up and go outside into the sun, that sudden exposure will tend to make people sneeze. Just because you sneeze doesn't automatically mean that you are Vitamin D deficient. It just means that at that moment in time you had a sudden increase in Vitamin D production which led to the sneeze.

 

thanks for the information!