Sneezing? You may have been thinking of sex

London: The act of sneezing evokes associations with cold or flu, but it might have something to do with sex.

For example, Mahmood Bhutta, an ear-nose-and-throat (ENT) specialist at Wexham Park Hospital, recalls the case of a colleague's middle-aged patient who had bouts of sneezing after thinking about sex.

Bhutta and senior colleague Harold Maxwell did some digging of their own by 'googling' sneeze-sex twice last year. Their 'research' turned up 17 responses by men and women, who admitted sneezing just after thinking of sex. Three others said sneezing was triggered by orgasm.

Bhutta and Maxwell speculated that thoughts of sex or even orgasm possibly activated our subconscious nervous system, which could lead to sneezing bouts in some, according to online reports.

The study was published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.