Why do humans sneeze?

umm..according to my calculations, if we werent sneezing, all that dust and pollen that we inhale would accumulate resulting in a giant dust ball which would be very uncomfortable since dust mites would be living in it and partying all night. as for the pollen, we don't want bees entering our bodies now do we.....

Sneezing is a mammalian trait. Not much is known about this reflex because study about it is considered non important. ____________ 1 2005 study result-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16288425 CONCLUSIONS: Despite its being such a commonplace occurrence, little is known about sneezing and few studies have been conducted to further our knowledge on the subject. Today there are still reports of cases of pathological sneezers, who often respond poorly to different treatments and for whom this reflex paroxysm becomes both a social and a health problem. Moreover, sneezing is sometimes associated with severe secondary medical sequelae. In contrast, there have also been reports of conditions in which the first symptom was an inability to sneeze. A thorough knowledge of this reflex, its causes and associated phenomena can be a valuable aid in the diagnosis of other concomitant disease. ============== and another one from http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon970411/skinny1.html Roberta Pagon, sneeze expert. Pagon was among a flock of docs who, while sitting around a cafeteria table at a pediatrics conference some years back, fell into a discussion of their sternutatory habits. Four of the 10, they discovered, sneezed when exposed to bright light. Being scientists, they wrote up their discovery for publication. Being scientists, they gave the syndrome a really bad acronym. How they figured that "Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst Syndrome" adds up to ACHOO, instead of ADCHOOS, is beyond me. ("Helio" refers to the sun; "Opthalmic" to the eyes.) ================ Sneezing has also inspired superstition-laden nursery rhymes: Sneeze on Monday for health, Sneeze on Tuesday for wealth, Sneeze on Wednesday for a letter, Sneeze on Thursday for something better, Sneeze on Friday for sorrow, Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow, Sneeze on Sunday, safety seek. In Spanish-speaking countries, when children sneeze the following is said: One sneeze: Salud (To your health) Two sneezes: Salud y dinero (To your health and wealth) Three sneezes: Salud, dinero y amor (To your health, wealth and love) Four sneezes: Salud, dinero, amor, y alergias (To your health, wealth, love, and allergies) In French-speaking countries, sneezing is accompanied by the following phrases: One sneeze: À vos souhaits (To your wishes) Two sneezes: À vos rêves (To your dreams) Three sneezes: À vos amours (To your loved ones or to your loves)

anything w/ a nose and lungs will sneeze ....hmm...now that i think of it...do birds sneeze i wonder? i mean they kind of have noses...they have nostrils on their beaks....

Very VERy good question. you see a mammal is warm blooded of course and our nose scent will get too strong if your close to something like fur or grass. The itchyness will tend to rise up in the nose and sneeze out to clear it.

Sneezing is from an alergic condition, but not always. Some sneezing is from psychologic reasons, like being in a bad place, remembering a bad time, etc, but most sneezing is from allergic reactions. Either dandruff, grass, mold, pet hair, dust, pollen, or something otherwise, most humans have an allergy to something, believe it or not. Most humans will sneeze at such allergens..... Talk to your doctor about what you might be allergic to, but in general, a person sneezes a certain amount of times......my son sneezes three times, my grandfather sneezes seven times, we could count it along, like a game. Sneezing seems to be a psychologic part and allergic part of our brains, making us sneeze x amount of times per allergic reaction........