Sneezing gives your muscles a workout

"Why do people always sneeze twice?," asked 10-year-old Shannon Piskun of Long Grove, a fourth-grader at Diamond Lake School in Mundelein.

Sternutation is the medical word for sneezing. That "achoo!," whether done once, twice or multiple times, gives your body quite a workout.

"Sneezing has been related to a pro ballplayer's pitch. They've been clocked at speeds up to 100 miles per hour," said Dr. Noga Ashkenazi, an allergist on staff at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.

A sneeze starts with a nasal irritant, Dr. Ashkenazi said, causing a nose twitch that sends a message to the brain's sneeze center. "A sneeze is an irritation in the lining of the nose. It's a way for the nose to get rid of that irritant."

Muscles in your abdomen, chest, diaphragm and face all help the sneeze to expel that pepper flake or microscopic piece of mold that comes in contact with the nose lining. "A majority of sneezes will have some eye involvement since there are many connections between the nose and eye," Dr. Ashkenazi said.

Some people sneeze when they step out into sunlight. That's called photic or light-induced sneezing.

"There's a visual trigger that causes an ophthalmic response," Dr. Ashkenazi said.

Allergies also can cause sneezing.

"Now is the beginning of prime allergy season," Dr. Ashkenazi said. "Tree pollen and mold allergies will continue through the beginning of June. June also is the culmination of the grass pollen allergy season."

The difference between allergic sneezing and flu or cold sneezing is easy to recognize, Dr. Ashkenazi said. "Colds come with a whole systemic response that includes fever and muscle aches and pains. When people have hay fever it only involves the nose and eyes and the nasal discharge is clear."