WHY PEOPLE SAY "BLESS YOU" AFTER SNEEZING

Growing up in a Christian home, I often heard my mum say “bless you” after sneezing. I realized nothing was said after coughing or burping but only sneezing. Some days ago I was in physiology experiment class and the teacher sneezed. A student quickly replied “bless you”.

 This teacher was obviously Chinese and for a moment I wondered if he understood why she said “bless you”. Right then I realized I didn't know what that phrase really meant and why it was said after sneezing.

We now know that sneezing is a reflex action and is most often the sign of something relatively benign, such as a cold or allergy. A sneeze also can be provoked by being outside in the sunlight or from smelling a strong odour. Still, we persist in the custom of saying "bless you" mainly out of habit and common courtesy.

 Some cultures have similar response to sneezes, believing that a sneeze could signal ill health: they might say, “Salud” (Spanish for “health”) or “Gesundheit” (German for “health”) or “Sláinte” (Irish Gaelic for “good health”) or “Jeebo” (Bengali for “stay alive”).

For the most part, the various sneeze responses originated from ancient superstitions. Some people believed that a sneeze causes the soul to escape the body through the nose. Saying "bless you" would stop the devil from claiming the person's freed soul.

 Others believed the opposite: that evil spirits use the sneeze as an opportunity to enter a person's body. There was also the misconception that the heart momentarily stops during a sneeze (it doesn't), and that saying "bless you" was a way of welcoming the person back to life.

The Romans would say "Jupiter preserve you" or "Salve," which meant "good health to you," and the Greeks would wish each other "long life."

 The phrase "God bless you" is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who uttered it in the sixth century during a bubonic plague epidemic which sneezing was an obvious symptom of one form of the plague.

There is a legend/tradition that Pope Gregory I commanded that, any time a sneeze was heard, the sneezer was to be blessed by saying, “God bless you,” (and making the sign of the cross over his mouth) as protection against the plague.

Finally, there is no biblical validity to such superstition. At the same time, there is no biblical reason to believe it is sinful to bless someone after a sneeze—in fact, it might just be a good time to extend a kind word and say, “God bless you.”

   Interesting facts about sneezing:

• Sneezes are an automatic reflex that can’t be stopped once sneezing starts.

• Sneezes can travel at a speed of 100 miles per hour and the wet spray can radiate five feet.

• People don’t sneeze when they are asleep because the nerves involved in nerve reflex are also resting.

• Between 18 and 35% of the population sneezes when exposed to sudden bright light.

• Some people sneeze when plucking their eyebrows because the nerve endings in the face are irritated and then fire an impulse that reaches the nasal nerve.

• Donna Griffiths from Worcestershire, England sneezed for 978 days, sneezing once every minute at the beginning. This is the longest sneezing episode on record.

                                                                         

SPORTS MEETING DAY; 100 METERS RACE 10.9 SECONDS

Hello lovelies!

Hope you all are awesome. I made a post earlier  YOU CAN DO MORE THAN YOU THINK. I wrote about how I was able to run a 3000 meters race during my practice. 

The sports event was 20/05/2016 it is called sport meeting. College of international education competes against the Chinese students. I ran my 3000 meters race and a 10 boys 10 girls relay race whereby a boy runs 300 meters and passes the baton to girl to run 100 and she passes to the next boy. They were both awesome races which we finished second place.

 

At the end of the program, the college of international education finished second place overall out of 11 school teams which was better that last year that was sixth place.

Oh Yes! One of our very own, a  Nigerian athlete broke to schools record of 100meters by running 10.9 seconds which makes him the fastest man in the school. That is so awesome. You can see him wearing the Nigerian jersey. 

It was a very beautiful event on a very sunny day that made us all darker ut it was worth it. I had a Subungual Hematoma (black toe nail) a collection of blood underneath the toe nail. Still hoping it heals fast.

I have really been craving pasta I had to go treat myself to it. I sat in a wet taxi which dirtied my pants but luckily I had my veil to tie around my waist.

On our way the 7^th floor, we saw a group of Chinese gathered and decided to check it out. There was a kissing completion going on. 20^th May when translated to Chinese is like their valentine’s day. 

The host of the show saw foreigners and was inviting us to join the kissing competition. We just ran away.

In summary, it was a very awesome day I am really happy I participated in the sports meeting and a big thank you to my bestie that pushed me to participate.

They school plans to organize a dinner and an award ceremony for us, I’ll keep you all updated about that.

 As some of you know, I am contesting for Miss African union in my school which is on 25^th may. I’ll keep you all updated about that too so subscribe to my Email list to be updated about my posts.

Photo Credit; I.G - sir_kay

Thanks for reading.

                                                                                    Lots of Love

                         TEENAH

NO TO SMOKING || KOSY UGWUMADU

My Name is Kosy Ugwumadu . I'm a Nigerian medical student at Liaoning Medical University China. I love photography, fashion, art and medicine.

2 years ago, I found myself in China, a country with the largest number of smokers. I was tempted to start but my love for my family and loved ones made me avoid this Epidemic. YES! "Epidemic”, “WHO” tagged it an Epidemic. Tobacco users need help to quit. 

Studies show that few people understand the specific health risks of tobacco use. For example, a 2009 survey in China revealed that only 38% of smokers knew that smoking causes coronary heart disease and only 27% knew that it causes stroke. Among smokers who are aware of the dangers of tobacco, most want to quit. 

Counselling and medication can more than double the chance that a smoker who tries to quit will succeed.

BEFORE YOU LIGHT THAT CIGARETTE READ THE FOLLOWING

 *Thousands of people stop smoking a day – by dying from it.

 *The best way to quit is to never start. Smokers don’t grow old…they die young…

 *Smoking is like cutting onions…it affects you and the people beside you.

 *Cigarettes are a classy way to commit suicide.

*To know more about LUNG cancer….keep SMOKING!!

*Long life or cigarettes? You choose.

 *If you’re thinking about smoking think again.

 *Don’t try to stop smoking. Just stop smoking.

 *If we lose the battle against tobacco, we will lose the war against cancer.

 *The more you smoke, the cigarette gets shorter and your life gets shorter too.

12 QUICK FACTS ABOUT SMOKING

1. Smoking causes 1 in every 5 deaths in the U.S. every year.

2. Every cigarette you smoke reduces your expected life span by 11 minutes.

3. A single cigarette contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.

 4. About 69% of smokers want to quit completely.

5. Exposure to Second-hand smoke causes nearly 50,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone.

6. More than a third of the world's smokers are Chinese.

7. Over 30% of cancer could be prevented by avoiding tobacco and alcohol, having a healthy diet and physical activity.

 8. 8.6 million people in the U.S. live with a serious illness caused by smoking.

 9. The Chinese smoking population is higher than the entire population of the U.S.

10. Smoking makes the risk of a heart attack 200% to 400% greater than that of non smokers.

11. Cigar and pipe smoking is every bit as dangerous as cigarette smoking, and possibly even more dangerous.

12. Smoking makes breasts sag faster than normal by breaking down a protein in the skin called elastin, which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breast.

So if you are planning to start, be smart don't start.

 If you are already smoking, put it out before it puts you out.

Smoking kills, QUIT NOW...Your life depends on it.

                                                                          

6 Facts about your breast you did not know.

Which one is most shocking to you? There are lots of facts about the breast. If there is anyone I excluded, please share with us.

 #1 Most women have one breast bigger than the other and for certain reasons it is usually the left one.

#2 Although breast cancer is usually seen as a female related disease, men can also have breast cancer.

#3 Women with very large breasts can suffer from chronic back pain that can last for months and years.

#4 You cannot increase the size of your breast naturally. This can only be done by surgery.

#5 You can have discharge from your nipples even when you are not lactating. It is normal and healthy.

#6 Smokers will have more saggy boobs than none smokers, due to chemicals in cigarette breaking down the body’s elastin.

                                                          Thanks for reading. Please follow and comment.