British man blows hole in the back of his throat after trying to hold in sneeze

A British man has blown a hole in his throat after trying to hold in a sneeze, with doctors saying his grim story should act as a warning to others.

The man, whose experience has been detailed in a medical journal, suffered excruciating and debilitating injuries when he pinched his nose and clamped his mouth shut to hold in a sneeze.

The force of the sneeze blew a hole in the back of his throat, leaving him barely able to speak or swallow. He could even hear popping and crackling sounds as air passed through the new hole.

Spontaneous rupture of the back of the throat is rare and is more typically associated with trauma.

When doctors examined the 34-year-old they determined that the crackling, popping sounds he'd complained of extended from his neck all the way down to his rib cage.

That was a sure sign air bubbles had found their way into the deep tissue and muscles of the chest.

The risk of serious complications saw the man admitted to hospital where he was fed through a tube and given intravenous antibiotics.

He spent a whole week in hospital and upon his release was sternly warned not to try holding in a sneeze ever again.

Suppressed sneezes have also been known to rupture eardrums, and even cause blood vessels to balloon in the brain.

The man's case has been detailed in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

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