Tonight I ate dinner with my family, and my brother invited his girlfriend over. We were all talking when I noticed that his girlfriend raised her hand up to cover her face, but I couldn't tell why. She wasn't yawning or coughing. Then I saw her aim her gaze at the lights of the chandelier and she immediately sneezed.

No one else at the table had noticed that she looked at the lights before sneezing. I asked her if she looked at the lights so that she could sneeze. Even though she said yes, everyone at the table looked at me funny. No one else had ever heard of such a thing: looking at a bright light to induce a sneeze. It sounds like such a silly concept, yet it's actually a medically recognized phenomenon.

As found by Scientific American, approximately one-third of the population has what is known as ACHOO syndrome. Yes, that is a real condition. And yes, that happens to be the sound a sneeze makes. The technical name for this condition is Autosomal-Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst syndrome. It is also known as the photic sneeze reflex. I think ACHOO syndrome has a much nicer ring to it. Don't you?

This condition is believed to be genetic, but the exact cause for these sunlit sneezes has not been pinpointed yet. Some believe that neurons connected to the brain are a bit mixed up; the signals sent from your optic nerves might be received by the part of the brain responsible for getting rid of irritation in your nose that causes a sneeze. Tests to prove this theory right or wrong have not been attempted yet. So just what might be the cause of this peculiar sneezing condition? Your guess is as good as mine.

I've noticed that when I tell my friends about this technique for inducing an incoming sneeze, some of them tell me that it doesn't work. They accuse me of playing a prank on them. I haven't pranked anyone with this situation before, because I use the technique myself. Whenever I'm about to sneeze, but can't seem to get it to happen, I just look up. I look at the nearest and brightest light and out comes the sneeze.

My brother's girlfriend mentioned that every time her brother steps outside when the sun is shining bright, he sneezes. There's some evidence of the genetic part of the condition. This could be problematic in some cases, though. If someone with ACHOO syndrome is driving and it becomes suddenly sunny, they could be at risk by sneezing behind the wheel. It isn't that much of a risk to sneeze while driving, but could you imagine telling the police officer "I'm sorry officer, it got really sunny so I sneezed!"

My brother said he'd have to try looking at a light the next time he needs to sneeze because he's never tried it before, but I have a hunch that it just might work.