PSR

Have you have ever stepped outside into bright sunlight and sneezed? Have you ever popped a piece of peppermint gum into your mouth and then sneezed? These are symptoms of a benign condition called photosternutatory response, also dubbed photic sneeze response or Autosomal dominant Compelling Helio-Opthalmic Outburst Syndrome (ha ha, yes--that's ACHOO syndrome). It affects those of European descent more than those of other origins. Scientists estimate that anywhere from 5 to 25% of people live with this condition, which might be heritable.

I first developed an interest in this "syndrome" when I found myself sneezing on warm, sunny days spent at our neighborhood pool. This was before I had tinted goggles to shield my poor retinas from ultraviolet radiation. I noticed that I would sneeze a lot if I had been swimming and took a rest at the side of the pool. Honestly, what really got my attention was the one time I sneezed so violently that I hit my chin on the concrete edge of the pool as I lounged between laps. Ouch!

I also had, and possibly still have, allergies that cause me to sneeze in the springtime. I think that at least some of my sneezing got passed off as hay fever and allergies when it was really my body's strange response to bright light. I took prescription pills that seemed to lessen the amount of sneezing that I had to endure. I would still sneeze now and then, but chalked it up to pollen or dust.

I don't think that it was until after my marriage to Tamara that I really started to draw a line between sudden increase in light and my sneezes. I noticed that the sneezes usually came in sets of three. If I had sunglasses on before I went out, the sneezing might be averted. If I felt like I wanted to sneeze, I could usually just direct my upturned face toward the sun--with my eyes closed, of course--and I would start sneezing.

Now I'm down to about two sneezes per set, and I have found that I am not just a sneezing freak. Given the predicted prevalence of PSR in the general population, I wonder that something didn't pique my interest to investigate the cause of my sneezing any sooner. Of course, I wonder that my allergist missed out on the possible PSR prognosis, too.

So, given that you are reading this blog, you are probably already acquainted with the fact that I am a somewhat eccentric science geek. Having cleared the air with that disclaimer, I now ask you if you will become part of a preliminary data gathering effort for a research project that I have been turning over and over in my head for some time now. To start with, I would like to investigate some possible links between PSR and other traits.

Where do you come in? Really, it's fairly simple:

You can click on the link below and fill in your information. (You can click on it multiple times if you have more than one person for whom you are providing information.)

send me your info

The email form is fairly self-explanatory. All of your information will be kept in the strictest confidence. (None of it is too personal anyway, with the possible exception of your date of birth--and who are you foolin' there?) If you have questions, please contact me.

Thank you.

Posted by Jeremiah on June 8, 2007 at 8:39 AM