Fact check: No, sneezes don't cause temporary death

Ella Lee, USA TODAY
·5 min read

The claim: Every time you sneeze, you die for a second

A post on social media claims a seemingly commonplace bodily function can lead to temporary death.

"Did you know? When you sneeze, you die for a second," reads a Nov. 15 Facebook post with nearly 100 likes in three days.

While some commenters questioned the post's veracity, others in the comment section seemed convinced it's true.

"Heartbeat stops for a second when you sneeze that's why you're dead for a second," one comment reads.

"I died 15 times today!!!" another commenter wrote.

That's not true. The heart may skip a beat from sneezing due to a quick change in blood pressure, but experts say that doesn't cause temporary death.

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USA TODAY reached out to the page that made the post for comment.

What happens when you sneeze?

While a sneeze may cause your heart to skip a beat, it won't briefly kill you.

"This is false and holds no scientific basis," Dr. Clyde Yancey, associate director of Northwestern University's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, told USA TODAY in an email. "There are no cardiovascular consequences of sneezing. We should dismiss this as folklore."

Sneezes are triggered by irritants in the nose like dust, allergens, viruses or air pollution, Yancey said.

Dr. David Gudis, chief of rhinology at Columbia University, said in an email that sneezing is a neurologic reflex that protects the upper airway from "irritating or noxious debris."

"(Sneezing is) essentially the 'cough' for the upper airway," Gudis said. "It is a highly effective mechanism to expulse air and secretions forcefully – up to 100mph! – to expel the offending irritant from the upper airway. It is so helpful, in fact, that it has been preserved evolutionarily across most mammals, from mice, to dogs and cats, and all the way over to apes like us!"

There are three main actions that occur when we sneeze, according to Healthline: We deeply inhale, our throats close up and we suddenly and forcefully exhale.

When we inhale, extra pressure builds up in the chest, blood flowing to the heart slows down, blood pressure lowers and heartbeats per minute increase. The closing of the throat adds to the pressure building up, and when we exhale, the pressure quickly releases, increasing the blood flow and pressure and decreasing the heartbeats per minute all at once.

That sudden change can cause the heart to "skip a beat" as the heart works to adjust to the increased blood pressure caused by the sneeze, according to Healthline.

"While the heart rate may slow down, the heart continues beating and does not really stop," Dr. Nizar Jarjour, a professor of medicine and radiology at the University of Wisconsin's School of Medicine and Public Health, said in an email. "Right after the sneeze is over, the heart rate goes back to normal. You really do not die for a second when you sneeze!"

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Dr. Richard Conti, past president of the American College of Cardiology, said heartbeats become "more forceful and more noticeable" after a prolonged delay before the heart's next beat, which may be where the speculation that the heart stops while sneezing came from, said in a Library of Congress article.

Some people may experience "sneeze syncope," or fainting from sneezing, which occurs when blood pressure drops so low it causes dizziness or passing out, but it's not common, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

"Cough and sneezing-related fainting is well described, but fortunately is a rare phenomenon," Jarjour said.

While blood flow might be impacted, electrical activity in the heart isn't altered by sneezing, a blog by Beth Israel Lahey Health's Winchester Hospital reads.

"You remain very much alive throughout your sneeze," the post reads.

Numerous falsehoods about sneezing exist online and are spread both virtually and by word of mouth, but Dr. Patricia Leonard of the Houston Ear, Nose & Throat Clinic wrote in a 2018 blog post that most of them aren't legit.

"There are many myths about sneezing that should be dispelled," Leonard said. "Your heart does not stop when you sneeze. Your eyes will not pop out of your head when you sneeze with your eyes open – though most people do reflexively close their eyes when sneezing. Thankfully, your soul will not depart your body when you sneeze if you aren’t promptly blessed afterward."

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that every time you sneeze you die for a second. The heart may skip a beat from sneezing due to a quick change in blood pressure, but experts say that's not the equivalent to briefly dying.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Sneezing doesn't cause temporary death