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When you breathe in through your nose, lots of tiny pieces of dust come inside along with the air. Some of the dust is stopped by the hairs in your nostrils, but much of it passes further inside. Most of the inside of your nose is lined with a special membrane that makes a sticky liquid called mucus. As the dust is pulled through your nasal passages, it gets stuck in the mucus. Normally, the mucus and dust is moved toward the back of your nose by millions of extremely tiny hairs called cilia, and you swallow it. But sometimes, too much dust gets caught in the mucus, and it irritates the lining of your nose. At that point, you feel a big tickle in your nose, and your sneeze reflex is triggered. You quickly take in a big breath, filling your lungs. Then, your chest muscles compress the air, causing it to forcefully blast out of your mouth and nose, expelling thousands of droplets of saliva and mucus, and with it, the dust that made you sneeze.

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13y ago

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