Can You Sneeze With Your Eyes Open?

To debunk this myth, let's first take a look at what's going on inside the body during a sneeze. Sneezing is a protective mechanism that the body uses to expel dust, pollen, pet hair and other allergens.

Some people sneeze when they're exposed to cold air. It's common to sneeze when you have a cold because the blood vessels inside of the nasal cavity become swollen and more sensitive than usual. This sensitivity triggers sneezing as soon as the nose detects irritating particles.

The act of sneezing considered an autonomic reflex, which is a fancy way of saying involuntary. When an irritant comes in contact with the nasal lining, the nerves in the area send a message to the lower portion of the brain, known as the medulla. The brain then triggers the activity necessary for the body to sneeze:

The muscles in the chest expand, the diaphragm contracts, and the lungs fill with air. The muscles that are in the back of the throat and vocal cords also contract, and then the stomach and chest muscles follow suit.

Finally, the sneeze is expelled through the mouth, sending between 2,000 and 5,000 droplets of mucus and air flying away from the body at between 70 and 100 miles per hour (112.6 and 160 kph) [source: Washington Post]. The spray from a sneeze can extend 5 feet (152.4 centimeters) from the sneezer [source: Library of Congress]. This spray is made up of saliva and mucus. Expelling the mixture through the mouth clears the nasal cavity.

One other thing happens during this process: Your eyes squeeze shut. But why? There's got to be some legitimate reason, right?

To understand whether your eyes are likely to detach from your body during a sneeze, you first need to understand how they're attached to your head. If all that's holding them in place is the flimsy piece of skin known as the eyelid, then that would make sneezing awfully dangerous.

Think about how many times you've watched someone out of the corner of your eye or rolled your eyes at some inane thing your friend said. Those eye movements are powered by muscles -- the same muscles that keep your eyes where they belong. The medial and lateral rectus, superior and inferior oblique and superior and inferior rectus muscles are all attached firmly to the eye. And they aren't going to let it roll out on the floor.

The purpose of eyelids is to protect the delicate eye area from injury and debris. Blinking acts as a wash for the eyes, freshening them with the vitreous fluid that's part of the eye. Tear ducts drain into the back of the nose, which is why crying leads to a runny nose. It's also the reason that sneezing can lead to teary eyes. The pressure built up when you sneeze can temporarily prevent the tear ducts from draining.

So, if the eyes are so firmly attached, why the widespread belief that sneezing with your eyes open will blow them right out of your head? Perhaps it's that it seems impossible not to close your eyes when you sneeze. And if we can't force our own eyes to stay open during a sneeze, there must be a good reason for them to involuntarily shut, right?

Some people's eyes don't shut when they sneeze, but most people's do. So if there's no concern that our eyes will pop out of our heads, then why do they close automatically?

You might think the eyes close as a defensive mechanism -- to keep all those projectile germs and bacteria out of the eye. But that's unlikely to be the case since the force of a sneeze sends the particulates away from the face, not toward it.

The more likely reason that eyes close during a sneeze is for no reason. It's just an involuntary reaction with no real purpose. The eyes may close during a sneeze for the same reason your leg kicks out when your knee is tapped.

It's not just the muscles in your eyelids that react during a sneeze. Many muscles all over your body react. For example, many people with stress incontinence experience urine leakages when they sneeze -- the result of those muscles tensing and releasing involuntarily.

So it's a pretty disappointing conclusion: The body forces your eyes to shut during a sneeze, but there's no real purpose for this action. Instead, it's a reflex that may have had a purpose at one time, but serves no function now.

According to the associate dean of the Texas A&M College of Medicine Houston campus, you can do anything that you put your mind to, including sneeze with your eyes open.

As we've already established, there's no connection between the body's blinking response during sneezing and the pressure released from a sneeze. The aforementioned associate dean David Huston MD is also an allergist at Houston Methodist Hospital, and throws cold water on the age old myth.

Humans are hard wired to close their eyes but open eye sneezes aren't inherently dangerous. Which is good news for those that are extra anxious around cold and flu season.