Next time you feel a sneeze coming on, let it fly. One man in the UK didn’t—and the “achoo” literally punctured his windpipe.
Now noted in BMJ Case Reports, the man, in his 30s, was driving through a hay fever attack when he tried to stifle a sneeze by pinching his nose and clamping his mouth shut. That move turned out to be a terrible idea. The sudden pressure blew a 2-by-2 millimeter hole in his trachea.
He showed up at the emergency room in serious pain, neck visibly swollen on both sides, barely able to turn his head. He could still breathe and talk, but doctors noticed a faint crackling sound under the skin—a clue that air was leaking into places it really shouldn’t be. X-rays revealed surgical emphysema, a condition where air gets trapped deep under the skin. A CT scan confirmed the source: a tear between the third and fourth vertebrae, allowing air to escape into the tissues of his neck and chest.
The culprit? A “rapid build-up of pressure in the trachea while sneezing with a pinched nose and closed mouth,” according to the medical team.
In other words, his body built up so much internal force that it popped a hole in his own throat. That’s not metaphor. That’s anatomy.
Thankfully, doctors didn’t need to operate. They admitted him for two days, skipped feeding him for 24 hours, and sent him home with painkillers, hay fever meds, and strict instructions to avoid any strenuous activity for a couple of weeks. At a five-week checkup, a follow-up scan showed the trachea had fully healed.
While the man got lucky, doctors are now using his story as a cautionary tale. Spontaneous tracheal tears are rare—and usually caused by major trauma or botched medical procedures. A rogue sneeze had never made the list.
The numbers back it up. When you close both your mouth and nose during a sneeze, you can generate pressure more than 20 times what normally builds up. It’s enough to blow a hole in your throat. Literally.
“Everyone should be advised not to stifle sneezes,” the report warns, “as it can result in tracheal perforation.”
So the next time you’re in a quiet room, in a meeting, or on a date, and you feel a sneeze coming—maybe let it out. It’s embarrassing. But not as embarrassing as explaining how your throat exploded.
The post This Man Held in a Sneeze—And Blew a Hole in His Windpipe appeared first on VICE.
