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i was wandering why onion makes me cry when i'm cutting them, so i tried three different things :

  1. first i tried cutting onions with swimming glasses, and it worked (i didn't cry)

  2. then i tried cutting onions without breathing, and it worked too.

it doesn't makes sens to me ! it seems like the second experiment contradicts the first (and vice versa) : my eyes are not protected and yet i don't cry !

  1. and finally, i tried with my nose obstructed, but breathing from my mouth, and it also worked

but i think that is just a variation on the second experimentation, which add an important precision : blocking breathing is not exactly the action that avoid tears, it's not breathing through the nose

i tried to read and understand this paper, but it's way above my capabilities

in the answers to this question, Why does cutting onions cause tears?​, it's specified that the lachrymal gland can also be activated in the nose, but it doesn't explain why blocking one of the two way is enough ?

hugogogo
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    Holding one's breath while chopping onions won't prevent irritation; maybe not breathing results in less gas movement in general, but cutting the onion will cause air movement and eventually the lachrymatory factor will reach the eyes, so breath holding doesn't confer any protection against onions. As to your last question, what way are you referring to? – anongoodnurse Jan 11 '22 at 01:55
  • Does breathing increase the air flow (and onion fumes) past the eyes? – Polypipe Wrangler Jan 11 '22 at 04:04
  • @anongoodnurse well, try it, i works perfectly ;) it does prevent irritation. And not only for the first few seconds, but one whole minute each time. And i was speaking of the two ways that lachrymal gland can be activated : through the eyes and through the nose. Protecting eyes, or protecting breath. – hugogogo Jan 12 '22 at 09:24
  • about the air flow, my third test already covered this question : when i was blocking only my nose, i was breathing, so the air flow was "normal", but i didn't get any tears – hugogogo Jan 12 '22 at 09:28
  • I will try it next time I chop an onion, thanks! I'm old, but I can still learn some new tricks. But will you believe me if I report that it didn't help? Or if I tell you that the scientific literature doesn't support your experience? And it has been studied, both for reasons of curiosity and economics (to develop a "tearless" onion.) – anongoodnurse Jan 12 '22 at 15:03
  • well ;) i would have no reason not to believe you, and i would be glad to know ! but that wouldn't change the fact that it works for me :) and for some of my friends that where curious with me :) Actually one of my friends already observed this phenomenon, and as a biologist herself she has an hypothesis : if the lachrymal gland receives a contradictory message : irritating gaz from the eyes but not from the nose, or the opposite, the reaction doesn't start. It might differ among peoples ? i don't know how to verify this hypothesis anyway :/ – hugogogo Jan 12 '22 at 17:10

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