Repeated fits of sneezing during a cold or a flu may take a day from bad to worse for anyone , but imagine the plight of someone who sneezes after every 10 seconds.
Hard to believe but true!
For about a month now, Ira Saxena, a nine-year-old Indian girl who lives in Essex, Britain, has been sneezing more than 8,000 times a day. The only time she doesn't sneeze is while she is asleep, and the longest respite during waking hours is about three minutes. Ira's mother, Priya, has consulted physicians and homoeopaths, and even hypnotherapy (a form of psychotherapy used to create subconscious changes in a person), but to no avail.
"Three weeks ago she just woke up sneezing and she has not stopped. It started slowly and has progressed to become more constant and violent. The doctors are saying it is possibly an incorrect signal being sent from her brain or a tic, but nobody can be sure," Priya told the Mirror.
Ira's mysterious illness has affected her daily life and she has stopped socialising. Her mother said that they have tried antihistamines, steroids and nasal sprays but nothing seems to have worked.
The doctors have told them that they haven't seen a case like this before.
Ira's mother has made an appeal to people, asking for help from anyone who has seen such a case, or encountered this at any time of their lives.
