Senior Citizens Stifling. Any thoughts?

[JackJenkey]

Today I started thinking about something. I wonder if senior citizens who stifle their sneezes, are more or less likely than younger people to suffer a negative consequence from stifling. Perhaps, they are no more or less likely than anyone else, but it's an interesting question.

On one hand, if they are stifling at this point in their lives, there's a good chance that they've done it for many years, and possibly since they were kids. So, they've had plenty of time to master their stifling technique. That could mean that they are at LESS of a risk of causing themselves any injury, because they are so experienced at limiting not only the volume of the sneeze, but the power of the sneeze. For instance, today I witnessed a woman in a mid to late 50's, but still very attractive, having a sneezing fit that consisted about about 6 to 8 sneezes. She didn't plug her nose or even put her hand up to her face, but she managed to keep her sneezes totally silent and almost unnoticeable. Her head just bobbed slightly and she exhaled briefly and quietly after each sneeze. Her stifling skills were so impressive because it didn't look or sound like she required much effort to stifle the sneezes. It was almost like her sneezes had no force behind them at all.

On the other hand, I've heard that people tend to become more and more fragile as they get older, and are at higher risk of injuries and medical problems. So, could it be possible that older people might be more likely to break a blood vessel or get a brain aneurysm while stifling a sneeze? Could they be more likely to injure their ears, noses, or their eyes when holding in their sneezes?

Anyone have any thoughts on this issue? If I see an 85 year old woman plugging her nose and sneezing silently, should I feel bad for her because she may be more likely to hurt herself doing that, or should I just admire her impressive stifling skills, and not worry much since she's probably a very experienced stifler?

[whymilk]

I can safely say this is something I have never thought about.