A straw would quickly eliminate the hiccups. According to a study, 92% of users are satisfied with it.
- A researcher has developed a straw to stop hiccups.
- 92% of users no longer had hiccups after using it.
Stopping breathing while doing mental calculations, being frightened, drinking cold water with your head thrown back… There are many remedies, tips and tricks to stop hiccups, but their results are sometimes disappointing. A researcher has just found a new solution: a straw! A recent study, published in the journal JAMApresents the results of this new tool.
Hiccups, a problem for some patients…
the hiccup is a succession of repetitive and sometimes noisy jerks. This is due to an involuntary, spasmodic and coordinated contraction of all the inspiratory muscles, the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles, associated with a closure of the glottis. “Hiccups are annoying for some people, but for others it has a real impact on their quality of life, explains Ali Seifi, the straw’s inventor and lead author of the study. This includes many patients with brain damage, stroke or cancer. (…) Some chemotherapies cause a howhat.”
… who have never had satisfactory results
The idea for this instrument came to him from his job as an anesthesiologist. In the recovery room, he observed that many operated patients developed hiccups, which bothered them after surgery. “There have been no clear medications to relieve hiccups, he points out. IThe only drugs prescribed are psychiatric drugs which stop the spasms but make the patients drowsy. There is also no device to treat hiccups. A few devices have been patented or proposed for provisional patents, but they never reached the stage of being available to people.”
More than a straw, a cure for hiccups
The principle of the straw developed by Ali Seifi is simple. Just like classic ones, it must be immersed in a liquid. Then, the user must vacuum…And that’s when it all happens! The object has a small valve that resists suction, which requires strong suction and constricts the diaphragm of the person trying to drink. Two mechanisms are involved in stopping hiccups. On the one hand, aspiration and swallowing prompt the epiglottis, a organ of the respiratory system located in the throat and covers the trachea during swallowing. On the other hand, sucking and swallowing simultaneously stimulate two nerves – phrenic and vagus – which also relieves hiccups.
92% of people who tested it no longer had hiccups
The scientists conducted their study with 249 people, 69% of whom had hiccups at least once a month and, for the most part, it was less than two hours. According to the survey results, for 92% of the participants, the straw helped to stop the hiccups. Just over 90% believe the straw is easy to use. An interesting remedy, especially for people suffering from chronic hiccups which can last up to 48 hours and return regularly.
.
