Cultural Issues on Sneezing

To sneeze is to have a sudden uncontrolled burst of air out of the nose, caused by discomfort in the nose:

The dust made him sneeze.

The baby keeps sneezing -she must be getting a cold.

a fit of sneezing

When a person sneezes, it is quite common for someone in the room with them to say "Bless you!" In American English the interjection gesundheit (from German, meaning "health") is used to wish good health to someone who has just sneezed. The person who has sneezed probably then replies "Thank you".

The sound made by sneeze is expressed in writing by the word "Atishoo!" or sometimes "Atchoo!".

Sneezing can be the first sign of a cold or a symptom of viral infection. Sneezing can further be triggered through sudden exposure to bright light or a particularly full stomach, and it also can be the outward manisfestation of an allergy.

In the Ancient Greece, sneezes were believed to be prophetic signs from the gods. An instance of sneezing for the Greeks occurs in the story of Odysseus. When Odysseus returns home disguised as a beggar and talks with his waiting wife Penelope, she says to Odysseus, not knowing to whom she speaks, that "[her husband] will return safely to challenge her suitors"". At that moment, their son sneezes loudly and Penelope laughs with joy, reassured that it is a sign from the gods. In Europe, principally around the early Middle Ages, it was believed that one's life was in fact tied to one's breath, so this led people to believe that sneezing could easily be fatal. While the contorversial monarch Charles II was on his deathbed, his medical attendants administered a concoction of cowslips and extract of ammonia to promote sneezing. However, it is not known if this promotion of sneezing was done to hasten his death (as coup de grace), or as an ultimate attempt at treatment.