Why Do We Sneeze?
Achoo! Your nose just did something amazing. Let's find out why.
A sneeze feels sudden and silly — but it follows a real process in your body. Here's how it works, step by step.
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The short answer
Sneezing has a science name. It is called sternutation. Say it like this: ster-nu-TAY-shun.
A sneeze is your body's way of pushing an irritation out of your nose.
Something is bothering the inside of your nose. So your body blows it out. ACHOO!
Sneezing has a scientific name: sternutation.
A sneeze is your body's way of removing an irritation from your nose.
In other words, when something irritates the inside of your nose, your body responds by forcing it out — and that response is a sneeze.
How a sneeze works
Step 1 — A tickle
The inside of your nose gets a tickle.
It starts when the inside of your nose gets a tickle.
Step 2 — Sneeze center
A message goes to your brain. It goes to a special part called the sneeze center.
A message travels to a special part of the brain called the sneeze center.
Step 3 — Muscles together
The sneeze center sends messages to lots of muscles. They must work together, in just the right order.
The sneeze center sends messages to all the muscles that must work together — in just the right order.
Step 4 — ACHOO!
All the muscles work at once. Out comes the sneeze!
The muscles act together, and the sneeze bursts out.
These muscles help you sneeze:
The muscles the sneeze center calls on:
- Your belly musclesAbdominal muscles — your belly muscles
- Your chest musclesChest muscles
- Your diaphragm — the big muscle under your lungs that makes you breatheThe diaphragm — the large muscle beneath your lungs that makes you breathe
- The muscles that control your vocal cordsThe muscles that control your vocal cords
- Muscles in the back of your throatMuscles in the back of your throat
- Your eyelid musclesYour eyelid muscles
🔬 Scientists film sneezes
Scientists at MIT study sneezes up close. Researcher Lydia Bourouiba's group films sneezes and coughs with high-speed cameras.
They study the cloud of droplets a sneeze makes. They hope to learn how illnesses spread.
What can start a sneeze
Lots of things can start a sneeze. Here are three:
Many different things can trigger a sneeze, including these three:
When you catch a cold
When you catch a cold, a virus has made a home in your nose for a little while. It makes your nose swell and feel bothered. So you sneeze.
When you catch a cold, a virus has made a temporary home in your nose. It causes swelling and irritation there — so you sneeze.
Allergies
Some people have allergies. They sneeze when they are near things like animal dander or pollen.
Dander comes from the skin of many pets. Pollen comes from some plants.
Some people have allergies, and they sneeze when they are near things like animal dander — which comes from the skin of many common pets — or pollen, which comes from some plants.
Sunshine sneezers
These people are called photic sneezers. Photic means light.
People who sneeze in bright light are called photic sneezers. Photic means light.
You get it from a parent. It runs in families. That is called an inherited trait.
It is an inherited trait — you get it from a parent, so it runs in families.
Ask your family: does anyone sneeze when they step into bright sunshine?
Because it is inherited, photic sneezing runs in families.
The stuck sneeze trick
Has a sneeze ever felt stuck? It tickles… and tickles… but it will not come out?
Sometimes a sneeze feels stuck — the tickle builds, but the sneeze won't come out.
Here is a trick. Look briefly toward a bright light. That can help the sneeze come out.
Here is a trick that can help: look briefly toward a bright light. That can help unstick the sneeze.
Words to know
sternutation
The science name for sneezing.
The scientific name for sneezing.
irritation
Something that bothers the inside of your nose and makes it tickle or swell.
Something that bothers the inside of your nose, causing a tickle, swelling, or both.
diaphragm
The big muscle under your lungs that makes you breathe.
The large muscle beneath your lungs that makes you breathe.
dander
It comes from the skin of many pets.
It comes from the skin of many common pets.
pollen
Something that comes from some plants.
A substance that comes from some plants.
photic
Means light. A photic sneezer sneezes in bright light.
Means light. A photic sneezer sneezes when exposed to bright light.
inherited
You get it from a parent. It runs in families.
Passed from a parent, so it runs in families.
Source: Nemours KidsHealth, “What Makes Me Sneeze? (for Kids)” (kidshealth.org).
Checked November 2026.