Why Do People Sneeze? 

Source of pictures: pixabay

The weather turned cold without warning, and people took out their sweaters and longs. Having learned the lesson from his last cold, Daniel put on his coat and mask to go to school like all the good boys do. In the class, a sneeze interrupted the teacher. Jessica, sitting in front of Daniel, covered her nose with a tissue and looked down in embarrassment. The teacher looked at her with a smile and said, "It's cold recently. Let's keep warm."

Jessica didn't go around chatting with her friends after class. She sat quietly in her seat with a pack of tissues, sneezing from time to time. Daniel listened to her sneeze and thought it was weird. "Ah-Choo~~", sounded like Pikachu.

Before bedtime, Mom brought a quilt to Daniel's room, saying that his blanket was not warm enough and it could be cold at night. Daniel picked up the soft quilt and suddenly his nose tickled and he sneezed. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "mom, why do some people sneeze like 'Ah-Teee~~', while others sound like 'Ah-Chooo~~'?" Mom sat down on the edge of the bed and said curiously, "I've never noticed that. Somebody sneezes like 'A-Chooo~~'? That's cute."

Daniel thought of Jessica and said, "A girl in my class sneezes like that. Why do people sneeze, Mom?"

Mom swept his nose gently with her finger and explained, "It's an instinctive reaction of the body. When you inhale dust, pollen or other matter, even strong light, you sneeze to get it out. It's like a gust of wind that blows dirt out of your nose."

Daniel nodded and said, "Yes! I felt my nose tickle just now."

Mom continued, "Maybe you just sucked in the wadding from the quilt. Sneezes are the first line of defense for our body to prevent the invasion of germs. It blows them out of the nose with a 'tornado'. You know, we have tiny black hairs in our nose, which act like brushes, keeping out what we breathe in and only letting clean air into our lungs. But when bacteria or a pungent smell gets into the nose, these hairs and the very sensitive cells underneath them can sense them. These cells will send a signal to the brain that there's something dirty in the nose, and that you need to sneeze, maybe more than for one time, and that your body needs to be prepared. In most cases, when you sneeze, your eyes are closed, your lungs inhale, your chest muscles contract violently, and within seconds, a 'tornado' blows up your nose, pushing the dirt out."

Daniel ducked under the cover, listened and said, "But why cover yourself when you sneeze? Won't it bring the dirt back in?"

Mom pulled the quilt and said, "It's because of etiquette. Sneezing can spread germs or viruses into the air. We shouldn't let germs or viruses escape into the air. You can cover your nose with a tissue before sneezing."

Daniel nodded. Looks like he'll have tissues in his schoolbag at all times.

Author: Huang Jing