A sneeze closes your eyes

For most people ACHOO is a passing nuisance.^[7] The risk comes from timing: a burst of sneezes at exactly the moment you need to see.

Driving, and coming out of tunnels

Coming out of a road tunnel into a bright day is the classic case. You can be dazzled by the light and close your eyes while sneezing, both at once.^[7] A letter in the British Journal of Ophthalmology raised the driving hazard back in 1991,^[4] and the NCBI genetics summary lists drivers sneezing on the way out of a tunnel as one of the main practical risks.^[6]

It isn't only tunnels. A German study team noted the potential danger in everyday situations such as driving a car.^[11] In a 2026 case report, a 26-year-old scooter delivery rider crashed three times in three months, each time at a shift from shade to sunlight. The third crash, on the way out of a covered car park, fractured the floor of his eye socket and needed surgery.^[8] The emergency doctors who wrote it up called the reflex under-recognised in emergency settings.^[8]

Pilots

Aviation researchers have described the photic sneeze reflex as a danger to fixed-wing and helicopter pilots, because a sudden change in light intensity can set off unexpected sneezing during critical moments of flight.^[5] Airline pilots are named in the NCBI summary too.^[6]

Other sudden-glare moments

• Bikes and motorbikes. The scooter rider above is the clearest published example.^[8] We couldn't find a study of cyclists specifically, but the physics is the same: glare, a sneeze, and your eyes shut.
• Jobs that mean looking into bright sky. Researchers have listed baseball outfielders and high-wire acrobats among people for whom a light-triggered sneeze could be dangerous.^[9]
• At the eye doctor. Eye examinations use bright lights such as the slit lamp and ophthalmoscope, and a surgical microscope during operations, all of which can set off sneezing in people with the reflex.^[15] Anaesthetists have tested ways to suppress it during injections around the eye, because a sudden sneeze and jerk of the head at that moment can injure the eye.^[16]

Please don't use it as a party trick

Some people look at the sun to bring on a stuck sneeze. Don't. Eye doctors reported a 12-year-old boy who, over eight years, had stared at the sun or a red laser cat toy to make himself sneeze. He ended up with scars on the central part of both retinas and reduced vision in both eyes.^[17] Never look at the sun, and never point a laser at anyone's eyes, including your own.

Practical ways to plan around it

None of these are treatments. They're common-sense ways to avoid getting caught out.

• Sunnies and a hat. Shielding your eyes from direct sunlight with a hat or sunglasses is the standard suggestion.^[6] Have them on before you leave the tunnel or car park, not after.
• Know your hot spots. Tunnel exits, multi-storey car parks and shady roads that open into glare are the usual suspects.^{[7, 8]} If you know your commute has one, expect it.
• Give yourself room. Leaving a bigger gap to the car in front buys you time if a sneeze lands at the wrong moment.
• Tell your clinician. Before an eye exam, eye surgery or an injection near the eye, mention that bright light makes you sneeze. It's a known issue and they can plan for it.^{[15, 16]}
• Ask about techniques. A Sydney team that included ophthalmologists published a short letter on managing the reflex with "philtral pressure", pressing on the groove between your nose and upper lip.^[18] It's one small report, not a proven fix. Ask your eye doctor if it's worth trying.