I wonder if some people are born without a sneeze reflex

[retrofan191]

Random thought. I mean for every function of the human body, there is some chance it can be wired incorrectly, so it just got me thinking!

[Jorm]

I suppose some sort of nerve disorder could result in someone lacking a sneeze reflex.

[stevie_sloth]

I wonder what would happen in this case...they would get sick more often maybe, if the nose couldn't rid itself or defend the body against irritants...? Hmm. They would probably have to make an effort to blow their nose much more regularly than "normal"-nosed people I'd think.

[Pearlised]

hmm, thats an interesting thought.

Their nose would get blocked frequently, Im assuming they'd still get the mucus, aand yeah, they'd have to blow it all the time.

[NoV]

I would find it hard to believe, with all the diversity that exists between humans, that there are not people who have not got the sneeze reflex. I suspect they could be genetically born without the reflex or lose it through accidents or surgery. I feel for these people

[Chanel_no5]

Of course it should be possible. Lucky for us, it's not that common, though...

[Wishing]

I would imagine it's possible....just about anything is possible as others have said, although I should think it's not very common. What would be more common is for people to lose their sneeze reflex, or for the sneeze reflex to become impaired as they get older, as a result of injury or trauma of some kind.

What fascinates me is the idea of a person not being able to sneeze naturally, but being able to make themselves sneeze by inducing (i.e. with a rolled up tissue or something similar). Obviously this couldn't happen if the person was born without a sneeze reflex in the first place, but for those whose reflex may have become diminished to the point where they are no longer able to sneeze naturally, could they still induce and be able to sneeze? Interesting thought.....

Edited June 20, 2012 by Wishing