Most of the time, holding in a sneeze won't do much more than give you a headache or pop your eardrums. But in some cases, it can severely damage your body.

A sneeze is your body's natural defense mechanism-a high-speed blast (up to 100 mph!) that clears irritants like dust, pollen ...

Although rare, the risks of holding in a sneeze might include a rupture of an aneurysm, ear infection, neck pain, and rib fractures. It's best to sneeze if you feel like you need to.

6. Fractures. It's unlikely, but holding in a sneeze may cause a fracture. Case reports have shown that some people have developed larynx (voice box) and malleus (a small bone in your middle ear ...

Holding in a sneeze can also worsen existing injuries, such as in the case of a 38-year-old who tried to hold in a sneeze only for their right cheek to puff up.

Holding in sneezes isn’t just theoretically dangerous. Medical literature contains numerous case reports of serious injuries resulting from this seemingly harmless habit.

The pressure of holding in a sneeze can also cause you to pop a small blood vessel in your eye, nose, or eardrum, but that’s very rare, says Dr. Tylor. (Here are 10 other reasons why your eyes ...

A sneeze can propel mucous droplets at a rate of 100 miles an hour.If you hold a sneeze back, that pressurized air will need to go somewhere. In this case, it injured the tissue in the man’s throat.

A sneeze can propel mucous droplets at a rate of 100 miles an hour.If you hold a sneeze back, that pressurized air will need to go somewhere. In this case, it injured the tissue in the man's throat.

When you hold in a sneeze, air and pressure can travel up your Eustachian tubes—small passageways linking your throat to your middle ear—and cause your eardrum to rupture.

Never hold in your sneeze — it could kill you. Shutterstock In this case, the man didn’t require surgery, he was treated with paracetamol and codeine and stayed in the hospital for 2 days.

If you are about to sneeze -- even if you are in a quiet place -- doctors would advise you to let it rip. A 34-year-old unnamed man in Britain learned that lesson the hard way and had to spend two ...