simple sneeze may be a tell-tale sign of sexual arousal for a select few, research suggests.

Two British doctors investigated the phenomenon after reading of a middle-aged patient who had uncontrollable sneezing fits when he thought of sex.

They unearthed evidence, via internet chat rooms, of 17 others – of both sexes – with the same problem.

The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine study suggests it may be down to a mix-up in brain circuitry.

The researchers, Dr Mahmood Bhutta and Dr Harold Maxwell, also uncovered three people who claimed to sneeze after orgasm.

Dr Bhutta, a specialist in ear, nose and throat medicine at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, said the phenomenon could be more widespread than thought and might even be inherited.

He said: “It certainly seems odd, but I think this reflex demonstrates evolutionary relics in the wiring of a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system.

“This is the part beyond our control, and which controls things like our heart rate and the amount of light let in by our pupils.

“Sometimes the signals in this system get crossed, and I think this may be why some people sneeze when they think about sex.”

Sneezing ‘can be sign of arousal’