![\"x-ray](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/C471\/production\/_99598205_8b40ca79-0a4b-4a43-8a7b-2f2e5fa55d6a.png\")
<\/p>\nStifling a sneeze by clamping your nose and mouth shut can cause serious physical damage, doctors are warning.<\/p>\n
Medics in Leicester treated a 34-year-old man who ruptured his throat while trying to stop a high-force sneeze.<\/p>\n
With nowhere to escape, the pressure ripped through the soft tissue, and although rare and unusual, they say others should be aware of the danger.<\/p>\n
Trapping a sneeze could also damage the ears or even rupture a brain aneurysm, they warn in journal\u00a0BMJ Case Reports.<\/p>\n
The man said he felt a “popping” sensation in his neck when it happened and then immediately experienced pain and difficulty swallowing and speaking.<\/p>\n
When the doctors checked him over they found he had swelling and tenderness around his throat and neck.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An X-ray revealed air escaping from his windpipe into the soft tissue of his neck through the rupture.<\/p>\n
The man had to be fed by a tube for the next seven days to allow time for the tissues to heal.<\/p>\n
After spending a week in hospital, the man was sent home and made a full recovery.<\/p>\n
Doctors from the ear, nose, throat department at Leicester Royal Infirmary, where the man was treated, said: “Halting a sneeze via blocking nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre and should be avoided.”<\/p>\n
Sneezes can spread diseases, so although it is good to “let them out”, make sure you catch them in a tissue, say experts.<\/p>\n
With flu season in full swing, children and adults should be encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough and sneeze and then throw the tissues away in a bin and wash their hands to stop the spread of germs, says Public Health England.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Stifling a sneeze by clamping your nose and mouth shut can cause serious physical damage, doctors are warning. Medics in Leicester treated a 34-year-old man who ruptured his throat while trying to stop a high-force sneeze. With nowhere to escape, the pressure ripped through the soft tissue, and although rare and unusual, they say others […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":392348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[16208,1727,16207,16209],"yoast_head":"\n