Why Do Humans Sneeze And Cough?

Every human on Earth sneezes or coughs sometimes. Do you know why your body uses these two physiological mechanisms?

Sneezing and coughing are two normal physiological occurrences in our body. Our organism uses sneezing to eliminate some unnecessary particles or microorganisms from the body into the environment. In many cases this happens when our bodies are attacked by allergens, viruses, bacteria.

If there is big concentration of slime in the nose (contain numerous bacteria), then the center for sneezing is activating. That center transmits signals to the diaphragm and the muscles which are around the lungs. Then, the diaphragm and other muscles are starting to contract very fast. Air comes out of the lungs and slime comes out from the nose very fast. This is happening for less than one second and the speed of it is 160 kph.

While we’re sneezing, our eyes closed reflexively. There is a theory that our vital organs stop functioning in the moment we’re sneezing, but it isn’t correct. The heart and the other organs work normally while we’re sneezing.

However, stopping the sneeze can be bad, since we could get injured then. I’m referring to injuries like tearing the veins in our eyes or cause problems with the diaphragm.

The coughing is a similar method and our body uses it when it needs to get rid of some particles from the throat, windpipe or lung. In this case the working of the muscles and the diaphragm is little different from the sneezing. The center of coughing is found in medulla oblongata (the elongate brain).

So, my advice to you is: If you must sneeze, do it because the sneeze can do only good to your health.