AnneR> Hiccups are funny for an hour but what if they continue for a
AnneR> day, or a week? What if they go on and on?
Protracted hiccups can be very serious. When I used to work in a
hospital, I remember one person who had them for months, and he
was in bad shape.
I offer the following as a suggestion, and it might not be any
help for protracted hiccups. But give it a try.
There are several "wive's tale" treatments for hiccups. A few
years ago, a discovery was made that one of these consistently
worked, and this was reported in Newsweek, I believe. The wive's
tale is to take a teaspoon of sugar and swallow it, not allowing
it to dissolve. In other wards, try to swallow it in its dry
granulated form. If you are doing it right, you should have at
least some tendency to gag a little.
What researchers found was that there was a nerve patch
on the throat, which when brushed with granular substances,
interrupted the hiccups. Any granular substance will work, sand,
salt, or sugar, but obviously sugar is the least objectionable.
I don't get hiccups frequently, but when I do, I use this
technique successfully. When I swallow the sugar, the sensation
that I am going to continue to hiccup remains at first. But, in
my case, the next hiccup never comes. Then the sensation
gradually dissipates, and after a few minutes, I'm back to normal,
no hiccups, no sensation.
Give this a try, and let us know if it does anything. I've not
met anyone yet that has told me that it doesn't work, but my data
is admittedly limited.
--
Terry Quinn
Germantown Hills, IL
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