Why do we sneeze when we go from a dark theater to the bright outdoors? The photic sneeze reflex is a genetic trait many of us have, as part of the Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helo-Ophthalmic Outburst Syndrome, the backronym for ACHOO! This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Photic Sneeze Reflex”
We were talking earlier about sneezing.
Have you ever gone to a matinee and then you come out of the movie and the sunlight hits you and you start sneezing?
Oh, I know this. My son does this.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
He has the photic sneeze reflex. I do it too.
And usually you do it more than once.
I didn’t know there was a name for it.
There are actually several names.
It’s called the solar sneeze reflex and the light sneeze reflex.
It’s also known as autosomal dominant compelling helioophthalmic outburst syndrome, otherwise known as achoo.
Seriously.
But no, it’s a real thing.
It’s a genetic trait.
So probably other people in your family do it.
And it has to do with the trigeminal nerve.
We think that when it gets stimulated by light, this nerve is very close to the optic nerve, and it may signal the nose that there’s an irritant.
Very interesting.
It would happen to us when he was a baby, and he would need his diaper changed in the early morning or in the middle of the night, and we would put him on the changing table and turn on the little lamp, and he would sneeze instantly.
Every time.
Like clockwork.
Guaranteed.
That’s hilarious.
This cute little baby sneeze.
It’s like the baby panda sneeze.
Yeah.
Something like that.
We’ll link to that video.
