ACHOOsyndrome

Sources

Every factual claim on this site links to one of these. If we couldn't find a source for something, we left it out.

Most links go to the PubMed record or the publisher's page. Some of these are single case reports or small studies, and we've said so where we use them.

  1. Collie WR, Pagon RA, Hall JG, Shokeir MH. ACHOO syndrome (autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome). Birth Defects Orig Artic Ser. 1978;14(6B):361-363. PMID: 728575. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/728575
  2. Forrester JM. Sneezing on exposure to bright light as an inherited response. Hum Hered. 1985;35(2):113-114. doi:10.1159/000153527. PMID: 3988295. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3988295
  3. Wang M, Sun X, Shi Y, Song X, Mi H. A genome-wide association study on photic sneeze reflex in the Chinese population. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):4993. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41551-0. PMID: 30899065. (Three authors are employees of a genetic testing company.) nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41551-0
  4. Benbow EW. Practical hazards of photic sneezing. Br J Ophthalmol. 1991;75(7):447. doi:10.1136/bjo.75.7.447-a. PMID: 1854707. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1854707
  5. Breitenbach RA, Swisher PK, Kim MK, Patel BS. The photic sneeze reflex as a risk factor to combat pilots. Mil Med. 1993;158(12):806-809. PMID: 8108024. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8108024
  6. Dean L. ACHOO Syndrome. In: Pratt VM, Scott SA, Pirmohamed M, et al., editors. Medical Genetics Summaries. Bethesda (MD): National Center for Biotechnology Information (US); 2012. Last updated 27 July 2015. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK109193
  7. LeWine HE. Does sneezing when I step into the sunlight mean I'm allergic to it? Harvard Health Publishing, Ask the doctor, 9 March 2026. health.harvard.edu/ear-nose-and-throat/does-sneezing-when-i-step-into-the-sunlight-mean-im-allergic-to-it
  8. Senthilkumaran S, Arathisenthil SV, Girija S, Sanjay P, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian P. Photic sneeze reflex: When light becomes lethal. Am J Emerg Med. 2026;102:170-172. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2026.01.042. PMID: 41619396. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41619396
  9. Langer N, Beeli G, Jäncke L. When the sun prickles your nose: an EEG study identifying neural bases of photic sneezing. PLoS One. 2010;5(2):e9208. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009208. PMID: 20169159. journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0009208
  10. Trinkl J, Bickerstaff L, Munkwitz S, Spitschan M. Stimulus conditions eliciting sneezing in response to bright light. Exp Brain Res. 2025;243(2):56. doi:10.1007/s00221-024-06988-4. PMID: 39893297. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39893297
  11. Kulas P, Hecker D, Schick B, Bozzato A. Investigations on the prevalence of the photo-induced sneezing reflex in the German population, a representative cross-sectional study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2017;274(3):1721-1725. doi:10.1007/s00405-016-4256-2. PMID: 27568353. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27568353
  12. Sasayama D, Asano S, Nogawa S, Takahashi S, Saito K, Kunugi H. A genome-wide association study on photic sneeze syndrome in a Japanese population. J Hum Genet. 2018;63(6):765-768. doi:10.1038/s10038-018-0441-z. PMID: 29559738. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29559738
  13. Sasayama D, Asano S, Nogawa S, Takahashi S, Saito K, Kunugi H. Possible association between photic sneeze syndrome and migraine and psychological distress. Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2019;39(3):217-222. doi:10.1002/npr2.12067. PMID: 31287245. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31287245
  14. Eriksson N, Macpherson JM, Tung JY, Hon LS, Naughton B, Saxonov S, Avey L, Wojcicki A, Pe'er I, Mountain J. Web-based, participant-driven studies yield novel genetic associations for common traits. PLoS Genet. 2010;6(6):e1000993. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000993. PMID: 20585627. (Most authors were employed by 23andMe.) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20585627
  15. Shetty PA, Bhat S, Jain V, Girish S, Shetty H, Kudlu KP. Implication of photic sneeze reflex in ophthalmology. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023;71(6):2629. doi:10.4103/IJO.IJO_107_23. doi.org/10.4103/IJO.IJO_107_23
  16. Hakim KY, Alsaeid MA. Comparative study between the efficacy of fentanyl, antihistamines, and dexmedetomidine in suppressing photic sneeze reflex during peribulbar block. Anesth Essays Res. 2019;13(1):40-43. doi:10.4103/aer.AER_174_18. PMID: 31031478. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31031478
  17. Coombs RA, Scruggs BA, Mansukhani SA. Sneeze and burn: Macular scars secondary to sun- and laser beam-staring to induce photic sneeze reflex. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2024;34:102018. doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2024.102018. PMID: 38464503. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38464503
  18. Bobba S, Spencer SKR, Fox OJK, Agar A, Coroneo MT, Francis IC. Management of the photic sneeze reflex utilising the philtral pressure technique. Eye (Lond). 2019;33(7):1186-1187. doi:10.1038/s41433-019-0368-4. PMID: 30783255. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30783255
  19. Bickerstaff L, Trinkl J, Munkwitz S, Spitschan M. Sneezing in response to naturalistic bright light exposure. F1000Research. 2026;14:1134 (version 2). doi:10.12688/f1000research.167964.2. PMID: 42077500. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42077500

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