SNEEZES—FeIine And Explosive

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 205, 30 August 1941, Page 11

SNEEZES—FeIine And Explosive

which has penetrated successfully the mysteries of so many of mankind's ills, still stands baffled before that common discomfort. the sneeze. Although their predecessors began working on the problem a few thousand years ago, medical men to-day admit they are still not sure how a sneeze originates or how to stop a fit of it.

By Lyle Acton

So perplexing is the entire problem of sneezing, together with coUls and allergies, that some of the world's most distinguished scientists have been making serious studies of it in rcccnt years.

Professor Mnrsnall W. .Icnnison. of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used a high-speed stopmotion photographic technique to take pictures of a sneeze. He showed how tiny drops from the nose and month are sprayed into the air at a 'muzzle velocity" as high as 150 ft a second—the number varying with the intensity of the sneeze. Now he's ofT on n new experiment, hoping to determine to what extent the sneeze may be responsible for :'.e spread of microbes of respiratory diseases. The world's fir<( movie of coughs and sneezes was produced by Professor P. C'ignolini. of the 1 "niversity of Genoa, who vombined the fastest X-ray and motion picture equipment to demonstrate to medical men all over the world iust what muscles are in piay and how they work.

They move with such lightning rapidity that the human eye can't follow them, but the camera can. "Sneezing" for Brains Then two New York psychiatrists "discovered" that sneezers who sneeze because hay fever just won't leave them alone are more intelligent than other people. At least, they're "apt to indicate superior personality.''

Later Dr. Buenaventura .limine/, who conducted a quite independent study of the same problem at the I'nivcrsity of Michigan, reached the same conclusion. He explained that one who inherits allergic tendencies has "hyper-sensitive brain cells."

This new s was hailed with delight by mem bet s of the Ca-Choo Club, who meet annually at Sault St. Marie. Michigan, where no ragweed pollen can tickle their delicate nostrils. Proud indeed was the Supreme Sneezer, who once sneezed so hard his glasses sailed J Oft across the room—and equally proud another sneezer, who broke up a rummv panic once by blasting all the card's off the table with a single sneeze.

There were even attempts made Jo catalorruc ;-nd d< scribe the "per-5-onain*»f the various typos of >nocze>\

For example, there's the feline, or pussy-cat sneeze, chicfjv used bv maiden aunt and high school graduates trying out for their first job Then comes the trombone or explo sive sneeze—unfortunate results of Irving to stop an impending sneeze by compressing the lips. The Clock Winder Also consider the cio<.k-winding sneeze, the loud sneeze which rattles nearby windows. the optimistic sneeze which sounds like a cowbo> out on the range, and the disappointing or non-eventuating sneeze which • lies, as it were, d-lwning. Add to this the carburettor sneeze and the most common type of all—the familiar, interrogatory sneeze which may be interpreted to mean ' What's it all about, anyhow " All these scientific activities, interesting as they might be. were quite apart from the basic, rock-l>ottom quest ion: What is a sneeze? One dictionary declares: "A sneeze is usually a reflex act caused by irritation of the nasal mucous membranes."

This sounds formidable and important. enough to satisfy moM laymen—but for the doctors, it's just a starter. They'd like to know more, .lust where in the human anatomy does the sneeze oripinate? Through what passageways does it travel? Why do some pollens irritate the mucous membranes of ccrtain individuals. leaving others serenely untouched—and unsneezing? Dr. Emanuel M. Josephson. a Fellow of the American Academv of Ophthalmology and Otalarngolopy. who has devoted the past seven vcar> to a study of sneezes and common colds, knows some of the answers.

"The nose." he says, "is the original air-conditioning apparatus: it warns of colds, moistens or dries the air that is breathed in. before that air reaches the lungs. It also creates currents, so that we don't breathe out the same air we breathe in."

But suppose a foreipn bodv gets lodged in the nose: or there's an irritation duo to the pollen of some plant: or suppose one has a cold, which causes chronic congestion and irritation. Thus It Happens What happens is that the tip of the middle turbinate, a shell of bone covered by membrane, bepins to swell up. and to press against the partition of the nose. The air to pet through in its usual war—but finds itself balked. Hence the sneeze.

Dr. Josephson's own opinion, which hp bases on hundreds of rases a: which he has officiated, is that lack <«f Vitamin A in the diet is sometimes responsible for chronic colds and predisposition to hay fever, with accompanying sneezes and sniffles. Hp recommends eating such food a~ apricots. broccoli. cream, cheese, epc yolks, liver, tomatoes, carrots and prunes, which are rich in tha: vitamin. Also he thinks deep rhythmic breathing would hcij* sneeze-sufferers a lot.

But how about controlling persistent sneezing once it has starred" Cases were cited where pat i en:sneezed continuously for weekwhile doctors frantically, but unsuccessfully. tried to effect a cure.

In these and other cases the un fortunate victims were inundated with floods of telegrams and lette- - suggesting every kind of cure, from throwing salt over the left shoulder in the light of the full moon to buri mg a rabbit's foot under the old elm ii ee in the back yard In mo; <- >ermu« \ ein. ihev also were su? rounded with specialists, who tried out liquid diets, sedatives. injociicm = of alcohol, allcrgv tests and wha: not,

Eveniually. the sufferers stopped sneezing. but. as one phvsician ad imtted candidly, the doctors were •-'ill slumped. He said: "We have tried so many thincs we can'i tell which remedy helped." Their Faces Were Red There was one lone case which resulted in the doctors' faces getting very red Because, after tr-v ing out various remedies for 130 hours, thc-v suddenly discovered the verv simple cause of the sneezes—a wild hair prowing in the patient's nose. 'When the hair was removed the sneezmc abated.

The problem isn'l always an one. Dr. Josephson agreed. To stor> an ordinary. parden-variet> sneeze

Ihe trombone or explosive sneeze. which win never make The headlines because it's not one of a pro lonped series-—he sugpests pressing the fin per on the upper lip and tip of jhe nose. But for a continued fit of sneezinp: "The tip of the middle turbinate can be snipped off. but that's a bii drastic. Applications of local anaesthetic sometimes help. The main thing is to find out where ihe irritation arises—whether in the nose itself or in the brain, or in the spinal cord, and proceed from there."