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Asked by jlsfan2 to Callum, Gina, Katie, Michelle, Sam on 19 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by mollibear.
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Callum Johnston answered on 19 Nov 2012:
Well our nose is very sensitive, it is constantly detecting the things that we are breathing in and deciding whether their is anything unusual about the air.
When we sneeze it is because the nose has detected something it doesn’t like in the nose, like a bacteria which may make us ill, and so it causes us to sneeze in order to try and blow out the bad bacteria and keep us healthy.
Sometimes the nose gets things slightly wrong though and it confuses harmless pollen as a cell which could make us ill. That’s why people with hayfever sneeze a lot in the summer because there is lots of pollen coming off the grass and trees and our nose want’s to get rid of it all.
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Sam Godfrey answered on 19 Nov 2012:
There are other bizarre things that can cause sneezing. Something called photic sneezing happens when some people see bright light. This is caused by a confusion of nerve signals. Also plucking eyebrows makes some people sneeze, as can eating chewing gum?! Apparently the longest ever sneezing fit lasted 978 days. Poor woman.
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Katie Howe answered on 19 Nov 2012:
We sneeze because our nose senses something like bacteria in the air that it doesnt like and wants to get rid of it.
This causes the production of a molecule called histamine. Histamine then signals to lots of different parts of the body which are all involved in a sneeze! For example, not only does the histamine tell the hair cells in the nose (called cilia) to beat up and down to get rid of the bacteria but it also tells our eyes to close (have you noticed that your eyes close when you sneeze?).
A lot of people with hayfever (including me!) take anti-histamine tablets which stops this sneeze reflex happening when it is not supposed to – like when a bit of pollen enters the nose
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