text: why do people say bless u when u sneeze?   when english speakers hear "achoo," they usually respond with either "gesundheit" or "god bless you." gesundheit was borrowed from german, where it means "health".   wishing a person good health when they sneezed was believed to forestall the illness that a sneeze might indicate. "god bless you" had a similar purpose.   it was once believed the soul could exit the body during a sneeze, causing ill health. folks said "god bless you" to ward off this danger.