Dr Jimmy Mohamed, health consultant from Europe 1, recalls why you should not hold back your sneezes, even at this time when the mask is very often worn.

The risk is real for the ears and even for the brain, which can be gradually damaged.

>> It's a very banal gesture that we no longer dare to do in public: sneeze.

In this period of the coronavirus epidemic and the widespread wearing of masks, the temptation is great to hold back your sneeze.

And yet, this gesture is not trivial for health, reminds Tuesday on Europe 1 Dr. Jimmy Mohamed, our health consultant.

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"I will first tell the story first of a young man of 34 who, after sneezing, complained of pain in his throat and chest. He decided to consult . And when the doctor examined him, he had the impression of hearing a small cracking. He decided to go for further examinations with a CT scan. He realized that this young man had a tear in his stomach. back of the throat. And to be more precise, what is called a pneumomediastinum, which is air that has entered the area between the lungs. Because when you hold yourself back from sneezing , you increase the pressure, it will be multiplied by 5 to 20.

"By repeating these gestures, all of this will weaken. You will lose neurons"

But that's not all.

Beyond this somewhat anecdotal story, Professor Philippe Amoyel, in his anti-Alzheimer's guide, recommends never restraining yourself or coughing or sneezing.

Because when you do that, you increase the pressure in your nose, in your throat, in your ears, but also in your brain.

And you will cause fragility in the blood vessels which will sometimes, in areas of weakness, lead to very small bleeding.

Except that this bleeding, obviously, it's going to heal on its own, but it's going to form a scar.

And by repeating this gesture, all of this will weaken.

You will lose neurons conducive to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

So, you will understand, you have to sneeze, even if it is a bit complicated with the mask.

Zoom on the "Achoo syndrome"

And sneezing isn't just for cold spells.

There is a syndrome which is rather funny, we call the 'Achoo syndrome', which is very common, since it affects 10 to 30% of the population.

It is the act of sneezing when there is light stimulation, excess light or a ray of sunlight.

The explanation is rather simple: when you have light reaching your eyes, to avoid having too much light, or not enough, there, there is a nervous message that passes through the eyes. nasal cavity.

Your brain feels like there is an assault and all of a sudden you start to sneeze.

So you will say but what is it for?

It would be linked to an archaic reflex.

When the baby comes out of the mother's womb, sometimes he starts to sneeze when he has light in his eyes.

It would be to evacuate the secretions of the amniotic fluid.

It is therefore an archaic survival reflex that is of little use, but that some people keep for a very long time. "