Danger Dust

If you were to envision the kind of accident that would cause a person's bowels to explode out of their body, you might imagine some sort of gruesome stabbing or grisly car accident.

You'd probably never imagine that something as commonplace and harmless as a sneeze would cause this kind of ghastly injury – but that's exactly what happened to a Florida man earlier this month.

The man was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery where his bowels were returned to his abdomen.

Sneezing is normally a protective mechanism that keeps potentially harmful things – such as dust, bacteria and viruses – out of our respiratory system. The process is controlled by the so-called “sneezing centre” in the brain’s medulla (which governs autonomic functions, including breathing). It’s activated by the presence of irritants in the lining of the nose and airways, which send impulses to the centre.