The ENT specialist found nothing wrong with Lauren's ears, nose or throat, and the oral therapist also analyzed her condition from a psychological perspective. "Everyone has spent a lot of energy on her," Lynn said, "everyone wants to help her, but no one knows exactly what to do."
Seeking Medical Help Repeatedly Without Effect
Lauren Johnson, a 12-year-old girl from Virginia, USA, looks no different from other children. But in the past two weeks, Lauren has been suffering from a strange illness that causes her to sneeze non-stop, with over ten sneezes per minute, amounting to tens of thousands of sneezes in a day.
Lynn took her daughter to seek help from multiple doctors and hypnotic therapists, but up until now, no one has been able to solve Lauren's problem, as of 2012 language. Two years ago, the program "Good Morning America" reported on a patient with similar symptoms named Brooke Owens.
Lauren's unusual symptoms started two weeks ago after catching a cold. Her mother, Lynn Johnson, recalled that one day when Lauren's cold symptoms worsened, she allowed her daughter to spend the night at a friend's house. After returning home on November 1st, Lauren began sneezing non-stop.
Lauren's rare condition brings her both physical and mental pain. According to records, there are approximately 40 similar cases worldwide.
"This is so annoying," Lauren said in an interview on the ABC's "Good Morning America" program aired on the 11th. In the middle of a sentence, she sneezed four times consecutively.
Regarding the suffering her daughter is going through, Mrs. Lynn could only silently stare at her daughter as a mother.
Currently Troublesome and Painful
At present, Lauren has had to temporarily leave school. Sleeping has become her only way to escape this distress, but even falling asleep isn't easy for her.
What pains Lynn most about Lauren's strange illness is not knowing how to comfort her daughter. She said, "I can't tell her when she will get better. Is it a week, a month, or a year?"
"It's also hard," she said, "I can only fall asleep when I feel a bit tired because I keep sneezing... until there are a few seconds of pause, then I can enter dreamland."
Lauren has started studying at home and gradually changed some living habits to adapt to the constant sneezing, especially eating habits. "Every time before I sneeze, I bite something small and chew it for one or two seconds," she said.
Allergy specialist Dr. Kenneth B. Altman believed that Lauren was suffering from "machine gun sneezing syndrome." "Patients with this condition sneeze continuously like playing a trumpet or firing a machine gun," he said.
Facing the troubles brought by the disease, young Lauren determined to face difficulties head-on. "It ruined my dream; I originally wanted to be a nurse," she said, "it affected my life and interfered with what I want to do, but I will gradually adapt."
Dr. Altman explained that although "machine gun sneezing syndrome" is rare, hundreds of factors could trigger this symptom, such as allergies, sinusitis, or nasal polyps, etc.
Sneezing Non-Stop
From the onset of the disease, Owens suffered from continuous sneezing, often lasting for weeks without stopping. "My hands and toes feel like they're being pricked by needles or stabbed by knives," Owens said, "if anyone bumps into me, I let out a scream." The strange disease also caused her immense mental anguish, as sneezing disrupted others' classes, forcing her to drop out of school.