When sitting in a quiet theatre or a packed train, stifling¹ a sneeze by holding the nose and closing the mouth may seem like the courteous² option.

当你坐在安静的剧院或拥挤的列车上时，用捂鼻子或紧闭嘴巴的方法把喷嚏憋回去似乎是个有礼貌的选择。

But doctors have warned against the polite practice, after a man ruptured⁴ the back of his throat while trying to contain the convulsive explosion of air.

但是医生警告大家不要采取这种礼貌做法，因为有一名男子正是因为试图把喷嚏憋回去而撕裂了喉咙内侧。

The 34-year-old was admitted to hospital barely able to swallow or speak after pinching his nose and clamping shut his mouth to stop a sneeze.

这名34岁的男子用捏鼻子和紧闭嘴巴的方式止住喷嚏后，在就医时几乎无法吞咽或说话。

When doctors examined him they also heard strange popping and crackling sounds, which extended from his neck all the way down to his ribcage.

医生对他进行检查时，还能听到奇怪的砰砰声和噼啪声，这种怪声从他的脖子一直延伸到他的胸腔。

A scan confirmed that that air from his lungs had bubbled its way into the deep tissue and muscles of the chest when it could not escape.

经过扫描确认，该男子肺部的空气因为无处发泄从而跑进了胸部的深层组织和肌肉里。

Ear, nose and throat specialists at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust released details of the man’s condition in BMJ Case Reports and warned that trying to contain a forceful sneeze could lead to ‘numerous complications’ and even a lethal⁵ brain aneurysm.

莱斯特大学信托保健附属医院的耳鼻喉专家在英国医学期刊病例报告中发布了该男子的病情细节，并警告说，试图把强烈的喷嚏憋回去可能会导致“多种并发症”甚至致命的脑动脉瘤。

“Halting sneezing via blocking the nostrils⁶ and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre⁷, and should be avoided,” said lead author Dr Wanding Yang.

该报告的首席作者杨万鼎（音）医生说：“通过捂鼻子嘴巴的方式止住喷嚏是一种危险的方式，应该避免这么做。”

"It may lead to numerous complications, such as pseudomediastinum (air trapped in the chest between both lungs), perforation of the tympanic membrane⁸ (perforated eardrum), and even rupture³ of a cerebral⁹ aneurysm (ballooning blood vessel¹⁰ in the brain).”

“这可能会导致多种并发症，比如假性纵膈（空气滞留在两肺间的胸腔中）、鼓膜穿孔，甚至脑动脉瘤（肿胀的脑血管）破裂。”

Doctors said the man’s condition was similar to Boerhaave’s syndrome¹¹ in which the esophagus is torn as a result of intense retching or vomiting¹². But in his case the build up of pressure from the trapped sneeze caused a rupture higher up in the throat, at the pharynx, which is situated¹³ just behind the tongue.

医生说，该男子的症状与布尔哈夫氏综合征类似，该病的病因是食管因为强烈的干呕或呕吐而破裂。但在这名男子的病例中，无处可去的喷嚏积攒的压力导致喉咙更高处的咽部发生了破裂。咽部的位置就在舌头后面。

Sneezes are powerful, travelling up to 200 mph, according to MIT scientists, with the power to eject debris¹⁴ up to 25 feet.

麻省理工学院的科学家指出，喷嚏的力量是强大的，时速可达200英里（约合322公里），可以将碎片射出25英尺（7.6米）远。

Previously¹⁵ people have been admitted to hospital suffering from burst eardrums, ruptured blood vessels¹⁶ in the eyes, damaged facial nerves, pulled muscles and even cracked ribs¹⁷ from trying to contain the huge force.

先前曾出现过因试图把喷嚏憋回去而导致鼓膜破裂、眼睛血管破裂、面部神经受损、肌肉拉伤甚至肋骨断裂的病例。

Doctors say a sneeze, or sternutation, is intended to release foreign, and potentially damaging, particles, irritants or germs. Stopping it not only risks rupturing¹⁸ the throat, but could encourage the build of bacteria or trigger an asthma¹⁹ attack.

医生说，打喷嚏的目的是释放外来的具有潜在危害性的颗粒物、刺激物或细菌。止住喷嚏不但有撕裂喉咙的风险，还可能助长细菌滋生或引发哮喘。

The patient was admitted to hospital where he was fed by a tube and given intravenous antibiotics²⁰ until the swelling²¹ and pain had subsided²².

这位病人在入院后，用管子进食并被静脉注射抗生素，直到肿胀和疼痛消退。

After seven days the man, who has not been identified, was well enough to be discharged with the advice not to block both nostrils when sneezing in future.

在七天后，这名男子终于康复出院，得到的建议是今后打喷嚏时不要捂住两个鼻孔。

And for people still needing to suppress a sneeze, experts advise rubbing the nose, breathing heavily through the nose, or rubbing the area above the lip.

对于那些需要憋住喷嚏的人，专家的建议是摩擦鼻子，通过鼻子使劲呼气，或摩擦嘴唇上方区域。