You forgot the best hiccups cessation study. I've passed this study on to the hospitalist the few times I've admitted a hiccup patient. It's a crowd pleaser. ;-) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2299306
Don't forget to ask your patients with intractable hiccups about recently started medications. Benzodiazepines and steroids have been associated with hiccups. This happened to me once after starting a medrol dose-pack. A very unpleasant experience!
I am on shift in the ED tonight, got hiccups that I couldn't shake, remembered this episode, looked up the recommendations, considered liquor / massage / sex, thought better of it, decided to rub just below clavicles anteriorly to stimulate C5 dermatome, and IT WORKED PERFECTLY!! Thanks Jess and the EMRAP team!
I know I'm late to this conversation thread, but tonight I just had hiccups and my partner who is also a doctor told me that the cure for hiccups is "drinking water backwards". I had no idea what she meant, but she explained that I should half fill a cup with water, and attempt drinking the water from the opposite side of the cup (needing to bend over and 'suck' the water up with my chin). This sounded like the silliest thing I'd ever heard, but desperate for a solution and unable to convince my partner of the benefits of sexual intercourse or digital rectal examination I gave it a go, and it worked FIRST TIME.
I'm convinced of a miracle cure, and wanted to inform my colleagues.
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John R. - October 18, 2018 7:53 PM
You forgot the best hiccups cessation study. I've passed this study on to the hospitalist the few times I've admitted a hiccup patient. It's a crowd pleaser. ;-)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2299306
Jenny Farah, MD - October 20, 2018 8:47 AM
Haha! Thanks for the link John! We can add this to our list of innovative techniques to combat intractable hiccups!
Sean V. - October 24, 2018 7:37 AM
Don't forget to ask your patients with intractable hiccups about recently started medications. Benzodiazepines and steroids have been associated with hiccups. This happened to me once after starting a medrol dose-pack. A very unpleasant experience!
Ian L. - November 5, 2018 1:17 PM
From personel experience a deep breathe in and holding your breathe for thirty seconds to one minute always works.
Stanley H. - November 18, 2018 4:59 PM
I am on shift in the ED tonight, got hiccups that I couldn't shake, remembered this episode, looked up the recommendations, considered liquor / massage / sex, thought better of it, decided to rub just below clavicles anteriorly to stimulate C5 dermatome, and IT WORKED PERFECTLY!! Thanks Jess and the EMRAP team!
Victor U. - January 13, 2019 4:31 AM
The physiological name is diaphragmatic myoclonus.
Bryce N. - May 21, 2020 1:55 AM
Dear Colleagues,
I know I'm late to this conversation thread, but tonight I just had hiccups and my partner who is also a doctor told me that the cure for hiccups is "drinking water backwards". I had no idea what she meant, but she explained that I should half fill a cup with water, and attempt drinking the water from the opposite side of the cup (needing to bend over and 'suck' the water up with my chin). This sounded like the silliest thing I'd ever heard, but desperate for a solution and unable to convince my partner of the benefits of sexual intercourse or digital rectal examination I gave it a go, and it worked FIRST TIME.
I'm convinced of a miracle cure, and wanted to inform my colleagues.