A Perthshire dad has told of the moment he was left with a hole in his windpipe – after a stifled sneeze went wrong.
Andrew McDougall, 29, was driving to work in summer 2022 when he felt a sneeze coming on.
The joiner, from Blairgowrie, tried to suppress it by closing his mouth and pinching his nose.
But he felt a “pop” as he sneezed, which was a 2mm hole being torn in his windpipe.
Perthshire dad felt ‘pop’ as he stifled sneeze
The dad-of-two told The Courier: “The day I sneezed I felt this pop.
“I got a stiff neck, but when I got home I started feeling and sounding funny and I began throwing up.
“A lot of blood came up and my fiance Kirstie phoned the ambulance.
“I was very concerned about what was going on.”
After getting CT scans and X-rays, Andrew said there was talk he may need to go to Aberdeen for specialist surgery.
He continued: “I had to wait for Covid tests before I could be admitted to a ward.
“The consultant said he’d been on the phone to Aberdeen just in case I needed to go there.
“But they were then happy for me to remain at Ninewells Hospital, where I spent a few days under observation.
‘I’ve stifled sneezes all my life – this one just went wrong’
“I knew I had a hole in my windpipe but the day before I came out a load of student doctors came round my bed.
“I was told what had happened – some of it was total jargon.”
Andrew only became aware the case study on his medical episode had been published when he was tagged on social media.
A CT scan five weeks after the incident showed his injury had healed.
He added: “They told me they were doing a case study because it was an interesting case.
“I didn’t realise how rare this was.
“I’ve stifled sneezes all my life to prevent spreading germs – especially with Covid.
“I suppose this one just went wrong.”
He joked: “It took a lot of guts to sneeze again after what happened.
“I’m still finding it hard not to stifle them.”
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