This question is of great interest not only to us, but primarily to scientists who wanted to find out what will happen if you sneeze with open eyes. Absolutely any living person on our planet sometimes sneezes, but few thought about why we close our eyes and what could happen if we sneeze with our eyes open. Let's start with the process of sneezing, which can be called a protective mechanism of our respiratory system. When a person sneezes, there is a direct irritation of the trigeminal nerve, which takes a direct part in the process of innervation of our eye. If this nerve is in a calm state, then our eyes may be open, but at its slightest irritation, whether we like it or not, the eye reflexively closes. Therefore, a curious question arises: what will happen if you sneeze with your eyes open? The whole clue lies in a complex mechanical process. And such a reaction of our body can be said to protect us. In what sense?
Hard to reach goal
If you imagine at least a second the pressure and speed of the air we exhale, then the question of what will happen if you sneeze with your eyes open will no longer arise. The speed is almost 150 km per hour! And our eyes can simply not withstand such strong pressure and, as they say, “fly out” of orbits! The fact, of course, is of a kind of fiction, but has its own explanation. At the same time, there are always lovers of experiments and who want to experience in their own skin what will happen if you sneeze with your eyes open. But here is the problem - to do this is extremely difficult. According to scientists, one can sneeze with open eyes, but this will require conscious use of the central nervous system. And few people succeed. Since these critical situations are difficult to achieve, scientists give a number of additional reasons why we close our eyes when sneezing. Knowing how complicated we are, and understanding the purpose of these mechanisms, we will no longer think about what will happen if we sneeze with our eyes open, and we will be glad that everything happens as it should.
What explains the closure of the eyelids
Sneezing with open eyes is quite difficult, because our nasal mucosa, eyeball, eyelids, and also the lacrimal glands are penetrated through the trigeminal nerve and its endings. If these endings are annoyed, then all involuntary reactions occur in the form of blinking or sneezing. All such signals converge in one center - this is the medulla oblongata. The remaining centers responsible for sneezing and closing of the eyelids are located nearby. If one center, for example, sneezing is excited, then the neighboring, by closing eyelids, is automatically activated. This explains our reaction: sneezing, we begin to involuntarily close our eyes. A similar process underlies the mechanism of the light sneezing reflex. If a bright light hits our eyes, we not only close them, but we can also begin to sneeze involuntarily. As you can see, sneezing is a very complex and interesting mechanism.