Our society has some dumb customs. One of the dumbest is blurting, “Bless you!” whenever anybody within hearing distance sneezes.
Where did this custom originate? There are several theories. Some say it comes from a folk belief that a person’s soul can escape from his or her body during a sneeze. Some say we owe this custom to Pope Gregory, who ordered the blessing because a sneeze could mean a person was coming down with the plague.
Other societies are more sensible. German speakers say, “Gesundheit,” and Spanish speakers say, “salud,” both of which mean “health.” A sneeze is clearly more a health issue than a theological one, but it’s not even a serious health issue. Contrary to folklore, your heart does not stop during a sneeze. You are not in imminent danger.
What really happens when you sneeze? Simply put, your body is reacting to a minor irritant, say a common cold, an allergy, an environmental factor like dust or smoke, or even sunlight. Your chest muscles compress, driving air and other disgusting things out of your nose at a speed of up to 100 miles per hour. Your sneezes can drive nasty germ-laden mucus through the air as far as thirty feet.
If anyone needs a blessing when you sneeze, it’s the people around you who are unfortunate enough to be in the path of viruses or unwelcome spray. Or passengers in a car you’re driving with your eyes closed, because it is true you can’t help shutting your eyes during a sneeze.
All this said, you should not suppress a sneeze, because doing so can injure blood vessels in your eyes or brain.
You can stop an impending sneeze by squeezing your nose, blowing your nose, or pressing firmly on your upper lip. In fact, when you see someone appear to avoid sneezing by holding a finger under the nose, she or he is probably actually pressing the upper lip.
So what’s my point? Stop expecting everyone around to shout, “Bless you!” when you sneeze. They should be saying, sarcastically, “Thanks a lot, pal, for blasting that into my environment.”
And if you’re sick enough to sneeze repeatedly, do everyone a favor and go home and get well.
Ruminations 