Man holds sneeze and breaks his neck

amsterdam - That the withholding of a sneeze is not a good idea has been known for some time. But how serious the health consequences can be, a 34-year-old man from the British Leicester proves.

The Brit felt a violent sneeze coming, but tried to avoid it. As a result, he sustained a fracture in his neck. Because the sneeze could not move, the air drilled through the soft part of the neck, causing the damage. The man felt his neck plop, reports the BBC. He struggled to talk and could not swallow.

The Brit, who was rushed to the hospital, had to stay there for a week. The man was given tube feeding because he could not eat solid food because of the break that eventually restored itself.

Doctors raise alarm and fear that people are not sufficiently aware of the risks of having a sneeze. The medical journal BMJ warns that people who do not throw their sneeze out are at risk of hearing damage or even a brain haemorrhage.