Causes of sneezing during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a special period. You need to be extra careful when doing anything, and sneezing during pregnancy is no exception. If a pregnant woman sneezes in the wrong posture, it will affect the fetus. Many pregnant women are not very familiar with the correct sneezing posture during pregnancy. It is recommended that everyone learn about this knowledge, which will be beneficial to both themselves and their children. Why? Let’s take a look together.

Sneezing is a protective reflex

Sneezing is the body's way of expelling irritants or foreign objects from the nasal cavity. Sneezing is a physiological phenomenon. When the nasal mucosa is irritated, the lungs inhale rapidly, followed by a rapid and forceful exhalation process. This may be accompanied by varying degrees of facial muscle movement, transient nasal mucosal congestion, increased secretions and tearing, etc. This is also a protective reflex of the human body to external stimuli.

Common causes of sneezing

There are several common reasons why people sneeze: sneezing due to colds and sneezing due to rhinitis. When people have a cold, sneezing can help clean the bacteria or viruses in the nose. When they have allergic rhinitis, they also sneeze when they are exposed to odors, pollen, cool wind, etc., which can expel allergens from the nasal passages. For pregnant women, in addition to the above reasons, due to changes in hormone levels in the body after pregnancy, estrogen levels increase, causing small blood vessels in the nasal mucosa to dilate, tissue edema, and vigorous glandular secretions, which can also manifest as symptoms such as nasal congestion, sneezing, and runny nose. Since this symptom occurs during pregnancy and resolves on its own after delivery, it is called pregnancy rhinitis.

Will sneezing have an impact on mother and child?

Generally, the symptoms of a cold in pregnant women are mild, with only runny nose and sneezing. It has little effect on the fetus and will be fine after a few days of rest. If you have influenza and your symptoms are severe, it will have a greater impact on the fetus, especially in the early stages of pregnancy. This is the period of embryonic development and organ formation. After infecting the mother, the virus may affect the growth and development of the fetus through the placenta. At this time, you should weigh the pros and cons and use the medication rationally under the guidance of a doctor. Allergic rhinitis itself will not affect the fetus, but if some viral infections are combined with allergic rhinitis, it may affect the fetus.

The fetus is protected by amniotic fluid in the mother's womb, so a normal sneeze will not have any effect on it, because the number of people who have miscarriages due to a sneeze is very small. If you sneeze too hard, it may cause strong abdominal contraction and increased abdominal pressure. If it happens frequently and with great force, it may affect the safety of pregnancy, especially for pregnant women with habitual late miscarriage and pregnant women with placenta previa or low placenta.

A common cause of habitual late miscarriage is relaxation of the internal cervical os, which is mostly caused by mechanical damage to the cervix or congenital developmental abnormalities. After the second trimester of pregnancy, due to the increase of amniotic fluid and the growth of the fetus, the pressure in the uterine cavity increases and the fetal sac may protrude from the internal os of the cervix. When the pressure in the uterine cavity increases to a certain level, the membranes will rupture and miscarriage will occur. For those with a loose cervix, cervical suture and fetal preservation treatment can be performed between 12 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the time of previous miscarriage.

If these pregnant women cough or sneeze for a long time, the amniotic membrane may rupture prematurely, resulting in failure of fetal preservation. For pregnant women with placenta previa or low-lying placenta, the placenta is located close to the cervical opening, which can easily cause bleeding when abdominal pressure increases, increasing the risk of miscarriage or premature birth. Therefore, pregnant mothers should pay attention to long-term and frequent sneezing.

Pregnant woman sneezing posture

Sometimes a strong sneeze can cause other diseases, such as a sudden increase in pressure in the blood vessels of the head, neck, and chest, which can easily cause blood vessel rupture and lead to nosebleeds, intracranial hemorrhage, etc. for people with some potentially dangerous diseases; sometimes a sudden increase in pressure in the respiratory tract and middle ear can cause rupture of the eardrum; sometimes strong reflex contraction of the lumbar muscles can cause lumbar muscle injury or lumbar disc herniation. Therefore, pregnant mothers should pay attention to adopting the correct posture when coughing or sneezing.

1. Cover your nose with a tissue or handkerchief, but leave some space

Some people often cover their mouths or pinch their noses to make the sound smaller when they sneeze, thinking that this is polite, but this is wrong. When you sneeze, do not pinch your nose or cover your mouth, because the human ears, nose, and throat are connected. There is a "Eustachian tube" between the nasopharynx and the middle ear tympanic cavity, which maintains the pressure balance between the middle ear and the outside world. If you pinch your nose or cover your mouth when you sneeze, the pressure in your nose will increase. Bacteria and viruses will easily follow the airflow through the Eustachian tube into the middle ear tympanic cavity with low pressure, thus causing acute otitis media. The pressure that cannot be released will also act on the ear canal tympanic membrane through the Eustachian tube, and in severe cases, cause perforation of the tympanic membrane. Therefore, if you sneeze, you should react quickly and take out a tissue or handkerchief to cover your nose, but leave some space.

2. Sit or squat with one hand behind your back or on your thigh

Many people have the habit of bending down and lowering their heads when they sneeze, but this is actually wrong. The habitual instantaneous action of bending over when sneezing may cause lumbar muscle injury or intervertebral disc herniation due to the strong reactive twisting and uncoordinated contraction of the lumbar muscles. In order to reduce the possibility of certain dangers caused by sneezing, it is best to sit or squat when sneezing, which can reduce the pressure changes in the chest and abdominal cavity. Place one hand behind your back or on your thigh for support to protect your spine. If you cough or sneeze too quickly and don't have time to put one hand behind your back or on your thigh, you can squat down to avoid hurting yourself. As the pressure changes in the chest and abdominal cavity decrease, the possibility of the above-mentioned dangers occurring will naturally be much smaller.

3. Press and knead the outer sides of both nose wings with the index fingers of both hands to quickly suppress sneezing

Sometimes when there are some precursor symptoms of sneezing (such as the nose suddenly becoming sour or itchy, etc.), or when you sneeze continuously and cannot stop, you can use the index fingers of both hands to press and knead the outer sides of both nostrils, which can usually quickly suppress the sneezing.

The correct posture for sneezing during pregnancy has been explained in great detail in the above article. I hope that pregnant women will follow the above posture when sneezing so that the child will not be harmed. In addition, if pregnant women find anything abnormal after sneezing, please go to the hospital for examination and treatment in time.