Quote:
Originally Posted by
Miri
You can't sneeze (not the tiny cute type of sneeze, but a big proper sneeze) with your eyes open - go on try it for yourself - I asked a friend about this who is a doctor and they said your eyes automatically shut when you sneeze to stop your eyeballs popping out! I'm not sure it this is correct or if they were just joking. A ah aaah tish shu.
Sorry mate, it's a myth.
Your eyes are actually quite secure, and your eye sockets aren't connected to your nose at all. So, although a sneeze can erupt from your nose at an explosive 200 miles per hour, it can't transfer this pressure into your eye sockets to dethrone your eyeballs. Plus, there's no muscle directly behind the eye to violently contract and push the orbs outward. Eyelids aren't big on muscle power anyway, so even if they were tasked with keeping eyeballs in place, they'd fail.
The reason we close our eyes when we sneeze is, quite simply, it's a reflex. The nose and eyes are linked by cranial nerves, so the stimulation from the sneeze travels up one nerve to the brain, then down another nerve to the eyelids, triggering a blink for most people.
It is, indeed, possible to blink with one's eyes open without fear of losing an eyeball.