Celebrity Traitors' Hannah Fry shares simple finger method to stop a sneeze

Celebrity Traitors' Hannah Fry shares simple finger method to stop a sneeze Having appeared in the latest series of the BBC's Celebrity Traitors, broadcaster and mathematician Professor Hannah Fry claims that this trick could work Professor Hannah Fry has shared a handy hack to stop you sneezing and it could come in useful if you’re somewhere you really need to be quiet. The BBC Celebrity Traitors star took to Facebook and asked whether you're "one of those people that sneezes when you look at a bright light". She joked that "if you are, I’m sorry to say that your brain is broken - maybe not broken - but definitely miswired". But before we get into the science, how can you actually stop a sneeze? The broadcaster and mathematician claims that if you "press down" on your philtrum, you could stop it instantly. The philtrum is the vertical groove or indentation located above the upper lip, stretching from the base of the nose to the peak of the upper lip. Many people call this the Cupid's bow. The professor explained: "What that does if you press really hard, it overwhelms the trigeminal nerve and sort of confuses it and gives it another sensation that makes it forget about wanting to press the sneeze button." What's the science behind this? To help you understand what this 'sneeze button' is - and what role the e trigeminal nerve plays - Hannah explained: "There is a nerve that runs up your face, called the trigeminal nerve, it is like this absolute beast responsible for the sensation in your face and controlling your big chewing muscles. "If something like a bit of dust or a virus gets inside your nose and tickles you, this is the nerve that has the reflex that can hit a sneeze button and forcibly eject whatever it was that was tickling you. The thing is, also running up your face is the optic nerve - this is the ones that runs from your eyes and is literally what allows you to see. "Some people, between about 18 and 35% of the population, the insulation, if you like, between these two is a little bit dodgy. You get cross-talk between the two nerves, and it means if you suddenly get a big change in the intensity of light - like someone switches on a really bright light bulb in your face - the optic nerve will kick off, unintentionally trigger the trigeminal nerve, which in turn panics and pushes the sneeze button." This 'miswiring' is inherited, the professor explained, likening it to whether you can roll your tongue; you get it from your parents. Scientists decided to call this trait the Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Opthalmic Outburst - otherwise known as ACHOO. According to the Cleveland Clinic: "The act of sneezing after your eyes catch a glimpse of bright light isn’t inherently dangerous. But what is dangerous is sneezing uncontrollably in high-risk situations that need focus, like when you’re driving." So if you're behind the wheel or in a situation where sneezing may not be the best, try this trick.