There's a minority group in the world that's unsupported by campaign groups and never features in the media. For many years, I thought I was alone in suffering from the condition until I found others of my kind. It's time we stood up against ignorance and obscurity. PHOTIC SNEEZERS UNITE!
Direct light (not only sunlight) makes me sneeze. The photic sneeze reflex (PSR) affects maybe one in eight of the population. Apparently, the cause is a cross-connection between the tear ducts and the nose, irritating the latter and causing one to sneeze when the eyes moisten in bright light. Basically, our faces are confused. Actually, it's not an unuseful characteristic: when you really want to sneeze, the solution is readily available.
But have you ever come across any fictional characters who're also photic sneezers? Any celebrities confessing that lightbulbs cause them to pull out their hankies? Any reality shows where participants are exposed to amusing types of light for the entertainment of the viewing public? No! We are neglected and ignored.
Anyone else out there?
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Not me. I'm probably odd enough in other ways.
But I saw a good set of postings on the subject at http://domesticat.net/entry/906
Ophelia, can you stop yourself from photic sneezing by biting your lip? (Works for me with ordinary sneezes.
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