THE next time you hear someone sneeze, it may be due to more than just a cold.
Scientists in Britain have made a link between sneezing and thinking about sex or having an orgasm.
It is caused by a fault in some people's nervous system which sends a signal to their nose causing them to sneeze when aroused, according to a new study.
Dr Mahmood Bhutta, a specialist in ear, nose and throat surgery at England's Wexham Park Hospital who made the discovery, published his findings in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
He told Telegraph: '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.'
What prompted his investigation was a patient's complaint of 'uncontrollable fits of sneezing' immediately after having any sexual thought.
Dr Bhutta and his colleague did an Internet check to find other cases. They decided that people with a condition that they see as embarrassing may prefer to write about it in cyberspace than tell the media about it.
The researchers found reports by 17 people who said they sneeze right after thinking sexual thoughts, and reports by three people who sneeze after orgasm.
Dr Bhutta's paper does not answer why some people sneeze when they think sexual thoughts or when they have an orgasm.
But the researchers suggest that sexual thoughts or orgasm might trigger the body's subconscious nervous system, which could lead to sneezing in some people.
While rare, the condition is likely to be significantly under-reported because sufferers are embarrassed about discussing the problem with their doctor.
And it could even run in families, like other common triggers for sneezing.
The doctors estimate that around one in four people are known to occasionally sneeze in response to sunlight, a condition for which researchers believe that there could be a genetic link.
More rarely, there are entire families who sneeze when their stomachs are full, according to Dr Bhutta's research.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Dec 27, 2008.
