WEBVTT - How Sneezing Works 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:08.879 Spring is so many wonderful things, trees, budding, flowers, blooming, 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:12.360 getting to wear straw hats. But for a lot of 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:15.840 people it also means a miserable season of allergies, and 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:19.599 sneezing is the poster child for allergies. Let's just admit it. 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:22.920 So we chose our episode on sneezing so we can 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.040 at least help you understand what the heck is going 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:27.319 on with your face. Even if we can't cure you, 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.240 we wish we could so seal all the doors in 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:33.960 the windows and kick back with this episode. 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:42.480 Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of Iheartradios 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:47.360 How Stuff Works. 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.000 Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.320 Charles w Chuck Bryan over there. Jerry is a disembodied spirit, 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:00.400 but she's still with us, haunting us. And we are 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:03.880 now set up for achievement, which means this is stuff you. 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.760 Should know, set up for achievement. That sounds like very 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:09.840 eighties Reagan era campaign. 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.679 It does, It definitely does. Certainly not the kind of 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:16.600 thing that would irritate you, whether it be in your 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:18.440 nose or your brain or anywhere. 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.000 Not the best segue, huh, I'm surprised you didn't try 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:26.360 and work sternutation in there. Somehow. 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.920 I love that word. Were you familiar with that word before? 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:32.200 I don't think you know, I'm forty nine years old. 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.120 I don't think i'd ever heard sneezing being called sternutation. 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.240 I got oh, man, I just remembered. I'm forty four now, 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:42.959 So you got me beat. But I'm in the same 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:43.520 boat with you. 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.360 Yeah, I never heard that, But that is what if 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:49.800 you're a scientist. Well, if you're a scientist and you 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.960 want to be a real stuff, you probably say sternutation. 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.880 If you're a scientist that wants to be friends with people, 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:57.320 you'll still probably say sneezing. 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.800 And I mean, it sounds super clinical, but it's actually 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.880 really old. It's from I think the first appearance of 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:05.960 it is in a text from fifteen seventy six. 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:08.000 It sounds old to me. 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:11.680 It sounds clinical, but there's also a couple derivative words. 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:17.320 Sternutative or stern utatory are things that make you sneeze, 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:24.320 and Howard stern bubba buoe right chewy. So we're talking 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:30.360 sneezing obviously, because we just discoursed on stern neuitation imagining 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:32.720 an extra syllable there are and I stern mutation. 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:34.000 That's the Josh Clark way. 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.440 Why do I have to complicate? Why do I have 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:37.960 to complimicate things? 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:47.680 We're talking about sneezing, and sneezing is a really sort 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:49.480 of and I hate it when people call things like 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.720 this elegant, so I'm going to refrain. But it's just 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.680 a very efficient system that the human body has worked 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:02.440 out to basically allow your your nose and we'll get 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:04.640 into all the ins and outs of how it all happens, 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.880 but to allow your nose and your nasal passage and 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.280 your brain to act as bouncers and just say, get 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:13.160 out of my body. Fast. 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:17.160 Cut off pal like real fast, you're cut off cigarette smoke, 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:23.560 You're cut off Chanel number seven that nobody likes, you know. Sure, 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:26.799 that's uh yeah, that's a pretty pretty good way to 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.359 put it. I mean, and it's an ancient, ancient reflex too. 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:33.720 I mean, basically, all mammals at least sneeze some more 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:37.680 than others. I didn't realize this, but apparently iguanas sneeze 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.080 the most because it's part of their digestion. 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:42.960 Yeah, and then I don't know what it's technically called, 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:45.040 but you know when dogs do what it's called the 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:46.000 reverse sneeze. 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:48.160 Yeah, Momo has that bad. 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:49.480 It's so scary. 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.000 It is, it is. And we finally got her checked 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.960 out and they verified she doesn't have a collapse trachia, 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.880 which is when it really is threatening. It's just something 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.040 to do with her nasal passages. Yeah, she's bracky as cephalic. 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:06.640 You ever had a dog that that has that. 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:09.400 I mean, I've I've never had a dog that didn't 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:14.560 do it occasionally, but Nico, I feel like goes and 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:16.960 it's not often, but it's it's like a you know, 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:19.159 it's like can be prolonged like for like a minute, 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.640 and it just seems like are you about to die? 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:24.120 Yeah, it's terrible, it's really bad. 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:25.800 I think you're just supposed to leave them alone too, right, 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:26.560 just let him do it. 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.560 No, we help her out. We'll we'll rub her throat, 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.080 just kind of stroke it. It seems to help, uh, 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.520 And then sometimes we'll just lightly plug her nostrils to 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.240 kind of give her like a hitch to it, and 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.680 that that frequently cures it too sometimes though. Yeah, she 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:44.760 just has to work it out. But she gets it 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.360 every time she gets excited, and she gets excited a lot, 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.160 so it's sad for her. 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:52.800 Yeah, but it's really not a sneeze actually, because a 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.880 sneeze is when you were you're trying to get something 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.400 out of your nose, and that nose is is a 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:02.839 pretty amazing little system. It's it's an amazing filtration system. 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:07.720 How it's designed with those narrow nasal passages. It's not 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.800 like we have these big face holes like that. They're 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.599 narrow for a very good reason, and that is to 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:19.200 create turbulence inside your nasal passages. And you know that 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.560 turbulence shoves all that air that you're inhaling to the 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:27.600 sides of your nasal passages. Yeah, the nasal mucosa and 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:31.240 that's got tiny little hairs called cilia, and the cilia 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:33.599 mainly is sort of like a pre door man just 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:37.000 saying like, yeah, your ID is good, Why don't we 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:39.240 just move you to the back of the throat and 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.000 we'll flush you out that way. But if it's too much, 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:43.839 that's when you need to call in the big bouncer 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:45.919 to initiate that sneeze response. 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.800 Yeah, sometimes it's just like no, I'm staying here, I'm 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.040 not leaving. You can't kick me out. They hate the 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.440 back of the throat super drunk, right, yeah, yeah, so 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:56.680 I didn't realize that, but it makes sense that we 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.120 swallow a lot of the particles that we inhale through 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.360 our nose, which is great but effective or tough it up, 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:05.960 we poop it out eventually, right yeah. But yeah, if 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:08.080 they get if they get stuck in the nose, then 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:13.120 they do something magical, almost as magical as soap. But 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.840 when it's when they're sticking to the sides and they're 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.120 they're not going anywhere, it's clear they're not going anywhere. 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:22.080 They actually like irritate some specialized cells that are in 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:29.160 that nasal mucosa mass cells and uh ireena fills I think, 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.080 But basically they're they're there to look out for little 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:34.680 particles that decide they don't want to leave, and when 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:38.920 those things get irritated, they release histamines which trigger this 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:43.719 reaction like an allergic reaction, basically where your nose is runny, 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:48.400 and they also simultaneously start sending signals to your brain saying, hey, 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:50.720 we we got one. We need some help. 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:53.640 Yeah, And I know we talked about this a little 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:57.440 bit with I know the pollen episode and I feel 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:02.120 like we did another allergy centric one I can't remember, 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:05.240 but the whole thing takes about a second for the 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.799 single sneeze, and you know it's going to send that message, 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:11.840 like you said, that chemical message to the sneeze center 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:15.120 of the brain, which is in the lateral medulla. Yeah, 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:19.640 and you know, the lateral medulla gets like everything in 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:21.960 the brain, it gets that signal and says, you know, 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.640 all I gotta do is react fast whenever the body 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.240 tells me to do something, and in this case, it's 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.360 to jet out whatever is in the nose as fast 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:31.000 as possible. 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:33.920 Right, So, and I was looking this up if you 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:35.880 want to get super clinical, if you're the kind of 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:39.600 person who uses words like ster mutation instead of sneezing, 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:44.040 there's actually something called an afferent phase and an efferent phase. 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:47.160 And an afferent phase is when you get ready to sneeze, 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:51.480 like your your nerves have been tickled and are triggered 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:54.800 and are itching and they're sending messages to your brain 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:59.119 in your sneeze center. And then that the efferent phase 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.240 is when your sneeze goes okay, it's go time, and 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:04.480 that's actually pretty interesting stuff. And the way that that 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.360 happens is, basically, from what I can tell, through a 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:13.720 system of nerves olfactory nerve, ethmoidal nerve, which is a 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:17.720 terrible word, and then your trigeminal nerve, which is basically 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:20.600 responsible for most of the sensation in your face and 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.480 your ability to bite and chew. And when these nerves 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.960 spring into action, they hit that message or the sneezing 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:29.520 center in your brain, and your sneezing center sends it 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.640 back over these this kind of same switchboard of nerves 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:34.880 in your face and all this is happening and just 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:36.959 you know, a very short amount of time. 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:39.800 Yeah, I mean, like I said, the whole thing takes 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.480 place in less than a second. And it's got to 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:44.280 reach you know, in order for it to reach that 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.599 sneeze center, it's got to be past a certain threshold 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:52.640 of irritation, basically, right. And once it does reach that 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:56.760 irt irritable point, of which there's no going back. He's 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:59.959 had too much to drink. Everybody in the bar knows it. 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:04.200 That's when it finally sends that impulse down through the 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:08.600 head and neck to initiate that response that involves a 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:12.000 lot of muscle groups. You know, when you sneeze, it's 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.400 a and especially with some people, it can be a 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:18.280 pretty violent action for the body. 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.200 Yeah, Like if you stop and take stock of what 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:25.000 you're doing right, then you might find that you're hunched over. 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:27.840 One of your legs is in the air, like, your 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:32.760 knees kind of pulled up, your face is all scrunched up, 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.280 your neck is tight. There's a lot of muscles involved. 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.800 And the reason why is because you're taking in a 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:41.360 bunch of air and then you're expelling a bunch of 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:44.800 air with a lot of force to get that thing 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.040 that won't leave out of your nose. 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.680 Yeah, like you can. And I've seen professional athletes that 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:54.720 have been sidelined from sneezing. If you've got a bat 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.040 back or something like, it can really hurt. Luckily, I 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:01.319 don't have back problems, but occasionally I have, and a 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.319 sneeze can really tweak it to where you're right. That's 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:05.960 when you know you're an old man's territory. You have 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.520 a sneeze and you're like, hold on, I can't get up. 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:10.920 Yeah, I'm gonna have to lay down this weekend. 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:15.400 But your abdomen, your chest, your diaphragm, your vocal cords. 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:18.160 You know, you mentioned that you take that deep inhalation, 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.559 that's that like right before you go, and that builds 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:23.640 up a lot of pressure in your chest. And that 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.160 happens because your vocal cords just initially clamp shut. 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:30.880 Right, Yeah, So you're sucking in a bunch of holding it, 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:34.840 and so the pressure is building in your thorax and 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:41.760 then when you release it, your vocal cord openings open 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.079 up to allow the air out. But then also your 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:48.640 diaphragm is pushing that air out really violently, so that 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:50.800 it's going out your mouth and your nose. I saw 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.959 about one hundred miles an hour is the speed that 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:54.760 that can hit. 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:59.120 Yeah, easily around one hundred miles an hour. That is 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.760 crazy to think about. Yeah, your eyes close, But you know, 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:07.359 we can go ahead and dispel the old myth that 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:09.439 you can pop your eyes out if you keep your 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:11.040 eyes open during a sneeze. 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.520 Right, Yeah, not true. And apparently there are some people 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:15.880 who do keep their eyes open when they sneeze, and 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.200 they show quite clearly that your eyes don't pop out. 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.959 That's just would be impossible. Plus they usually close anyway, 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:24.000 just automatically. 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:26.640 Yeah, it's a very small group of people who sneeze 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:30.240 with their eyes open. Most people just it's like involuntary. 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.720 It's part of the involuntary process of sneezing. I don't 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:35.400 know if we said that or not. Sneezing is an 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.720 involuntary reaction to an external stimuli in your nose. 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:43.200 Yeah, like you can't. I mean, you can try and 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:45.800 trigger a sneeze, and we'll talk about certain things that 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:49.079 can trigger sneeze, but huh, you definitely can't make yourself 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:50.640 sneeze like full stop. 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.720 Yeah, no, no, I mean, yeah, there's definitely things you 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:55.960 can do to make yourself sneeze, like you're saying, but 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.319 there are things you can do to keep yourself from sneezing. 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:00.400 Whether you want to or not is a different question, 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:02.559 because you know, sneezing can feel pretty good if you 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:03.560 don't throw your back out. 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.600 Well, we'll talk about my sneeze pattern later. I know 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:10.480 I've talked about it before, but okay, I find it fascinating. 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:16.920 You you accidentally tap out, drink your ovaltine and morse 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:19.040 code through your sneezes. Is that your thing? 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:19.760 Very nice? 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:20.400 Thanks? 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:21.400 Should we take a break. 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:23.760 Let's take a break, Chuck, and then we'll come back 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:30.000 and talk more about sneezing. 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:42.920 Josh and Chuck shot, well, now we're on the road, 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:46.000 driving in your Chuck, I want to learn a thing 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:47.640 or two from Josh. 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:48.440 Chuck. 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:53.240 It's stuff you should know, all right. 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:57.800 Hey man, before we get back into it too far, 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:00.080 I realized I didn't give a shout out to the 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:04.040 guy who gave me the idea for this episode. Doctor 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:08.760 Sneeze a lot, Yeah, Doctor Todd g sneeze a lot. 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:09.360 No. 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:13.080 One of my neighbor friends, Wesley, was like, hey man, 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.160 he actually listens and he's like, hey man, have you 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:17.040 guys ever done one on sneezing? And I'm like, sure, 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.720 of course we have. He's like, oh, because if you haven't, 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.000 you know, you really should. That's a great one. And 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.960 I went back and looked into my astoundment. We had 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:29.080 never done one on sneezing, Like never. I just can't 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:30.920 believe that that wasn't like one of the first ten. 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:33.400 You know, Yeah, that seems like it would be an 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:34.600 early stuff you should. 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:36.960 Know for sure, And like it kind of feels like 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:39.040 one of those right now as we're doing it. 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:42.080 But you know, my neighbors think I'm unemployed. It's great. 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:46.600 Yeah, but hats off to Wes for coming up with 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:47.079 that one. 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.560 Thanks Wes. Yeah, I leave Josh alone. 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.560 He's he's the one that we got the the love 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:56.680 your Mama dot com stuff for and he's like, oh, 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.959 halfway done with our room spray. We need some more 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:00.720 because we're using it so far fast. 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:01.960 And you're you're the pusherman. 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.000 Yeah. I was like, first one's on me, the next 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:06.000 are gonna cost you. 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.680 Yeah. I don't correct my neighbors. They think I'm down 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.040 on my luck. So that's all good. Yeah, opinion. 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.720 No, that's definitely the way to go. He's very nosy. 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.719 So he he found out I had to finally just 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:17.400 stop lying. 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:21.040 Oh that's good stuff. 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:25.960 So we're back to sneezing. We're talking sneezing, and one 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:30.000 of the things we mentioned was the sneezing center, which 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:32.960 is this, up until not too many years ago, a 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:37.760 theoretical part of the brain that causes us to sneeze, 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:41.400 that coordinates this involuntary response because you're not like your 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:45.320 brain's not consciously saying like okay, now, diaphragm expel the air. 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:52.360 I guess is all like we said, involuntary. 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.400 That every time you wanted to sneeze right expel air. 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.600 So it makes sense that there would be a region 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.160 that was responsible for this. And because we've already we'd 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.640 already seen it, don't ask how we know where it 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.760 isn't cats, but in cats it's in the medulla, and 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.800 so it was hypothesized that it was in the lateral 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:13.240 medulla in humans too. And finally, I think around two 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:17.200 thousand and five, there's basically incontrovertible evidence that came in 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.920 the form of this fisherman I believe he might have 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.960 been Spanish who had this sneezing fit one day of 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:27.320 like about twenty really violent sneezes in a few minutes, 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:30.440 and then all of a sudden he stopped sneezing and 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:34.120 couldn't walk right, like his gait was affected, almost like 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:39.160 he'd had a stroke. And apparently either he caused alesion 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.760 on his lateral medulla from the sneezing, or that violent 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:46.400 sneezing was like an initial symptom of alesion, kind of 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.920 like here's your last sneeze as ever, and he went 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.160 to the doctor and they started testing them, and they 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.240 would do things like put capsaicin in his nose, like 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:58.360 red hot chili pepper in his nose, which makes everybody sneeze. 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:06.880 It's like a universal stern toutry right, makes everyone sneeze, 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:08.760 And it wouldn't make this guy sneeze. It would burn 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:10.520 his nose and it would make his nose running, but 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:12.720 it wouldn't make him sneeze. On the other side, it 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:15.280 would make him sneeze the other nostril, but not the 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.760 right I think. And so they found this lesion on 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:21.760 his lateral medulla and they said, sneezing center. Welcome to 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:23.239 our understanding. 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:26.560 That's such a bad red hut chili Pepper's joke that 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:28.000 I just sat on through the whole spiel. 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:29.920 That's a very grown up of you. 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:33.080 Should I say it? 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:35.960 Sure? Whoever said we were grown ups? 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.960 I was just thinking the doctor would do the capsation 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:42.320 and ask him how he feels, and he'd say, well, 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:43.720 I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I don't have 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:48.840 a partner. That's pretty good, yeah, you know, it's better 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:51.840 than fight like a brave. I don't know. I'm trying 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:53.040 to think of chili pepper songs. 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.480 What if the doctor came in wearing nothing but one 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.760 of those reflector headbands and a sock on his Penis 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:01.240 that coming? That was it? 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:05.119 Oh, that'd be great that you know, you got the 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:05.719 right doctor. 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:08.320 Yeah, you do the party dog. 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:11.840 So things that can make you sneeze, I know you 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.600 kind of rattle off some jokes about perfume and smoke earlier. Oh, 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:19.399 I wasn't joking, but those are all realities. The most 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:24.040 common cause of a sneeze is and that the collective 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:28.920 term is rhinitis r HI and I T I S. 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:31.919 And that is just your sort of standard inflammation and 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:36.120 swelling of your mucous membrane when you got allergies, when 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:38.320 pollen's in the air, when you have a cold. But 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:40.240 there are all kinds of other things that can cause 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:43.480 a sneeze too, that are all different types of rhinitis. 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:47.040 Yeah, speaking of rhinitis too, I ran across a term. This. 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:50.160 The clinical term for a running nose is rhyino rhea. 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:51.560 Gross. 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:54.800 Yeah, isn't that crody Like? That makes it at least 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.520 twelve or fifteen times worse than running nose? 0:17:57.600 --> 0:17:58.600 You know, yeah, weird. 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:04.119 Yeah. So there's occupational rhinitis, which is basically when stuff 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:07.399 you're working around makes you sneeze or irritate your nose, 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:13.480 things like cleaning supplies or you know, flower I saw 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:22.200 was a pretty common occupational rhinitis sternatatory or sternatative, depending 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.800 on your preference. Cigarette smoke, if you're working a place 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.320 where they let you smoke, like maybe a cigarette factory, 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:32.280 although I heard that they don't allow smoking inside some 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.800 cigarette factories now in like North Carolina. Isn't that just 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.160 the end all be all? 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.480 You think they would allow you to do that while 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:41.960 you're working? 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.400 They used to up until very recently. Really, Oh yeah, 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:47.400 I have the impression you could just puck one off 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:48.600 the line and light it up. 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.879 Wow. I guess if you're a smoker, that's a big perk. 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:55.400 It is. But then now they're like, no smoking inside, 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.240 which leads you to the follow up question why why 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:01.399 would why can we make because it kills you? And 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:04.320 they go, what very dangerous, dummy. 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.000 Uh, let me see. You've also got the hormonal rhinitis, 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.480 which is women might experience that when they have high 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:16.800 estrogen levels. Maybe if you're pregnant, or you're on the pill, 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:19.600 or you're going through puberty, you might have some sort 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:21.240 of run on sneezing episodes. 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:25.679 Sure, there's a drug induced drnitis. There's certain drugs that 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:31.080 are been identified. What'd you say the hippis kind right, Yeah, 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:35.560 mushrooms will make you sneeze. Apparently I'm guessing that I 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.000 didn't see this anywhere, but this is an educated guest. 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:42.520 Tell me if you think it sounds convincing, those drugs 0:19:42.600 --> 0:19:46.840 probably stimulate your mass cells to release histamines, and then 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:53.080 that's just basically almost like a phantom allergen. Okay, that's 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:56.440 what I'm going with, all right, But apparently end said's 0:19:56.480 --> 0:20:00.560 beta blockers and some anti hypertensive drugs are the ones 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:05.439 that are known drug inducedrinis sternatories. 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:11.320 If you are of advanced age, you might have what's 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:17.280 called jerryatic rhinitis, which is that's when those sub mucosal 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:22.040 glands atrophy, and that means your nose can get really 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:25.000 irritated and you might sneeze a lot. Right. 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:28.760 That is very sad to me if you think about it, 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:33.119 because there's not much that can be done. I'm sure 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:35.960 you just put like maybe basoline or something in your nose. 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:38.200 That's got to be the cure for that. But let's 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:40.679 just say it. Because it's like your little body's you know, 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:45.440 running down. We should have a cure for that. Yeah, 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:47.800 Like our medicine is not far enough along in my 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.800 opinion for this to be twenty twenty. It's kind of 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:52.880 a disappointing twenty twenty everybody, am I right? 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:55.800 Yeah? 0:20:56.119 --> 0:21:01.280 So we've talked before, Chuck multiple times about photic sneezing, 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:03.639 which I am a photic sneezer, and I don't remember 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:04.439 if you are or not. 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:07.840 I feel like I have, but I don't. It's not 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:11.640 like roundly something that happens to me. I don't think. 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:15.880 So, Okay, I am a photic sneezer more than I'm 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:18.720 a native born Toledo win even maybe they're tied. 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.080 So how does it get you? Like, any time you 0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:22.160 like turn on a light. 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:26.560 Very rarely light, it's almost always sunlight, and I think 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:29.159 it's just because the intensity of it. But yeah, like 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:30.920 if I walk out, say, like if I go see 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:32.720 a movie in the middle of the day because it's 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:35.920