The best way to sneeze?

Since cold and flu viruses are spread through droplets in the air, being careful when coughing and sneezing is imperative to avoid passing on whatever illnesses you have. The best way to sneeze is into a tissue, and failing that, into the crook of your elbow.

Sometimes we try to stifle a sneeze with dire consequences if the example of a 34-year-old man revealed in the British Medical Journal’s Case Reports is anything to go by.

It’s reported the man arrived in A&E with a change to his voice, a swollen neck, pain when swallowing and a popping sensation in his neck after he pinched his nose to contain a sneeze.

An X-ray revealed air escaping from his windpipe into the soft tissue of his neck through a rupture. The man had to be fed by a tube for the next seven days to allow time for the tissues to heal. He eventually made a full recovery.