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Why do I sneeze when I'm hungry?

Since I was a teenager, I have noticed that when I'm hungry, I sneeze.  This only happens when my stomach is very empty (like before breakfast). I will first notice a slightly nauseous feeling, followed by a huge sneeze, which is then followed by an immediate sense of relief.  Nausea gone instantly, stomach not feeling empty.

When this sneezing occurs, it's usually 3 or 4 in quick succession, and these sneezes are huge! 

I'd like to add that I have no allergies whatsoever.  Since a young age, I also noticed that my father had "sneezing fits" every morning while he was on his way to work (he would eat breakfast near his office).  My mother searched fruitlessly for a cause of the sneezing.  When I told my father about the link I had found between my sneezing and my empty stomach, he pondered in silence.  I think that he has found my explanation rather dubious.  So, am I crazy, or is there a genuine link here?

 

sssss
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  • Asked by HKponder
  • on 2010-04-07 15:14:44
  • Member status
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Categories: Human Body.

Tags: sneezing.

 

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Kerouac status says:

I can't give you a definitive answer here - but I can speculate, and my speculation centers on the Vagus nerve. This nerve carries signals from both the stomach and the lungs to the central nervous system. It is possible that signals from your stomach telling you that you are hungry stimulate fibres in the respiratory part of the vagus nerve and the resulting cross-signals result in a sneeze.

A quick search for sneezing and hunger shows that there are quite a few people out there who have noticed this and are puzzled by it. Other people feel nausea when sneezing - which could be due to similar stomach and respiratory signals getting mixed up.

I can't prove any of this, but the vagus nerve is undoutably the prime suspect -and interesting also involved in this other Last Word question about ears and coughs!

 

 

 

 

sssss
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Tags: sneezing, VagusNerve.

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posted on 2010-04-07 16:41:49 | Report abuse


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