Case report: A 43-year-old woman with allergic rhinitis had a sneezing episode with closing of her eyes while driving at 40 miles per hour and crashed into another vehicle, killing the other driver. She sustained leg fractures.An insurance industry–sponsored study from the United Kingdom claims that more than 2 million UK drivers have had an accident or momentarily lost control of their car as a result of sneezing while driving.
If you think about lowering the volume of a sneeze, never plug your nose. It closes the airway, creating internal pressure. There have been recorded incidents of larynx fractures, voice changes, ruptured eardrums, damage to soft tissue in the neck, bulging eyeballs, bladder incontinence and more (WSJ, 2012).
Allergic rhinitis is a risk factor for traffic safety.
Untreated AR can impair driving ability and put patients at risk. Drug therapy reduces this impairment, and AR patients should therefore be advised to always treat their condition.
The magnitude of impairment was relevant and comparable to that seen at a blood alcohol level of 0.05%, the legal limit in many countries. Treatment of AR symptoms partially counteracted the effect of AR on driving. http://buff.ly/1k1IHt8
Here is what to do treat allergic rhinitis:
Treatment Options for Allergic Rhinitis (AR) and Non-Allergic Rhinitis (NAR) in 6 Steps (click to enlarge the image).
References:
Fatal consequence of allergic rhinitis. Spector SL, Tan RA. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010 Aug 30 (a paid access is required to read the full text).
Lowering the Volume of a Sneeze - ENT doctor describes "the Three Stooges method" in WSJ, 2012.
Certain Meds, Driving Can Be Deadly Mix - FDA: nonprescription antihistamines, anti-diarrheals, anti-nausea meds http://buff.ly/1t1Wq9X
Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.
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