Advertisement

Texas girl's nonstop sneezing baffles doctors

"Sometimes I wish I could leave my body for a little while so i could watch myself sleep and be at peace because even in my dreams, I sneeze," Katelyn Thornley said.

By Ben Hooper
Katelyn Thornley,12, of Angleton, Texas, has been sneezing up to 20 times per minute for about a month. CBS Dallas-Fort Worth video screenshot
Katelyn Thornley,12, of Angleton, Texas, has been sneezing up to 20 times per minute for about a month. CBS Dallas-Fort Worth video screenshot

Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

ANGLETON, Texas, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The family of a 12-year-old Texas girl who has been sneezing up to 20 times per minute for the past month said doctors are stumped by the condition.

Angleton resident Katelyn Thornley,12, said her sneezing fits began about a month ago and she has since been sneezing up to 20 times per minute -- about 12,000 times per day.

Advertisement

"I'm constantly in pain with my abdomen, my legs are hurting because I've been weak and I can barely eat," Thornley told KTVT-TV.

The girl's parents said they have taken her to six different physicians, who ruled out allergies and viruses as a cause of the nonstop sneezing.

They said stress appears to make the condition worse.

"Anything you talk to her about that irritates her -- you can see it spike and continuous sneezing," Thornley's father told KRIV-TV. "It's easy to trigger."

Thornley said she takes Benadryl to help her sleep at night.

"Sometimes I wish I could leave my body for a little while so i could watch myself sleep and be at peace because even in my dreams, I sneeze," she said.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines