Plastic straw that ‘cures’ your hiccups (but it’s £10!)

FORGET drinking backwards or holding your breath – the next time you suffer a bout of hiccups, you should just suck it up.

Scientists claim to have found a proper cure for hiccups in a simple drinking-straw device.

Hiccups, or singultus as it is known in medicine, is a common condition prompted by a spasm of the diaphragm.

Each contraction is followed by a sudden closure of the vocal cords, which causes the characteristic ‘hic’ sound.

But while there are many alleged cures, a team of researchers say they have come up with a new solution – a ‘ forced inspiratory suction and swallow tool’ (FISST).

The device, pictured above, a £10 plastic, L-shaped straw with a mouthpiece at one end and an adjustable cap with a pressure valve at the other, has been patented as ‘HiccAway’.

It works as the increased suction required to draw water through the straw forces the phrenic nerve to trigger a contraction of the diaphragm, while the subsequent swallowing activates the vagus nerve – both of which are responsible for causing hiccups in the first place.

‘It works instantly and the effect stays for several hours,’ Dr Ali Seifi, associate professor at the University of Texas Health in San Antonio, and designer of the HiccAway, said.

In a study of its effectiveness, scientists analysed the responses from 249 volunteers. More than 60 per cent said they had hiccups at least once a month. They said the device stopped hiccups in 92 per cent of cases, while 90 per cent of participants said they found it more convenient than other home remedies and that it gave better results.

However the study, published in the journal Jama Network Open, was based on self-reported results. It concluded: ‘FISST is an easyto-use tool to relieve transient hiccups. The sample of participants who responded to the online questionnaire associated the device with superior results compared with home remedies.’