Did it work?
Did the headline scare you enough to get rid of your hiccups?
For some people, hiccups are just a minor occasional annoyance that might last for a few minutes. I’m sure we’ve all tried various tricks like blowing into a paper bag, hyperventilating, or being scared by someone.
But for other people, hiccups can be a more serious health issue, impacting their quality of life. Relief for these individuals may be on the way.
Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have come up with a new invention that may finally cure the hiccups in one simple step.
The device, which scientists call the “forced inspiratory suction and swallow tool” (or FISST), has shown great promise in a recent study. Results show FISST stopped the hiccups in almost 92 percent of cases, according to the self-reporting of the participants. Moreover, just under 91 percent call the new device easy to use.
Here is a description of how the device works, from StudyFinds:
FISST is a rigid drinking tube (a high-tech straw) that has an inlet valve the patient uses to suck up water from a cup. The action of suction and swallowing simultaneously stimulate two nerves, the phrenic and vagus nerves. Doing this, the team says, will stop the hiccups.
Specifically, the forceful suction of pulling in water prompts the user’s diaphragm — a muscle that inflates the lungs when you breathe — to contract. The suction/swallowing combination also causes the epiglottis to close. This flap covers a person’s windpipe during swallowing.
There is a drawing of the device at the end of this post to help you visualize how FISST works.
The device is now being marketed by a Colorado company partnering with UT Health San Antonio.
I just checked to see if FISST might be a deal of the day on Amazon for Prime Day, but I did not see any mention of the product on the Amazon website.
So until then:
Haha! And sign me up! Hiccups are the worst…ugh
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I wonder how much this thing will be, and if it will be marketed as a medical device…
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My son started hiccuping before he was actually born. I could feel them when I was pregnant. After his birth, and I mean very soon after, they became a regular thing that were difficult to stop. As he grew, people always thought he was faking. He is almost 30, and I think he has finally outgrown them, but perhaps I should ask just in case he still needs a solution. Interesting article.
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that must have been a weird sensation, to feel him hiccuping while you were pregnant. and it seems like it was a good predictor of future behavior. Glad to hear he may have finally outgrown them.
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Ha! Of course I had the same experience with my first pregnancy and the child that came out became a master hiccuper. She still does at 34. I should buy it for her.
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Wow. It would be interesting to see what it does for her.
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I guess us guys are lucky we never had to go through something like that 🙂
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Hiccups thankfully I am not a suffer but feel for anyone who is…if this gadget really works I am guessing it will soon be sold out 🙂 x
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I’ll be curious what the price will be…
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Not cheap I am guessing… x
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and I wonder if it will be sold as a specialty medical device, or a simple consumer product…
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Interesting. Beats trying to drink water upside down.
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Tried that once but all that did was get me soaked lol
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no one said it was easy 🙂
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yes, that is another option 🙂
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Interesting!!
My mother always says me to drinks lot of water it will help to cure hiccups
Seriously it works
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mothers know best!
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Right
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I wonder how much it will cost?
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I am womdering the same thing…
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I think you would use this device only if you have a bad case of the hiccups and can’t get rid of them any other way. It would be the last straw.
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That was a sucky comment
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then it matches the actual post…
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Hmm. Maybe sucky comments can cure hiccups.
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That sounds like a strawman argument.
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Generally, all of my arguments end up being straw man arguments.
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as long as it’s a plastic straw man and not one of those environmentally friendly paper straw man
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Yeah, those kind tend to collapse on you. But only when you really suck.
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the paper ones don’t taste right in your mouth either…
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No. Maybe because it’s not a tasty petroleum product.
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yum yum… petroleum…
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That could be an advertising jingle for Exxon.
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I’ll have to contact the Mad Men…
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I wonder if you just inhale really deeply on a cigarette if it would have the same effect…
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it works for sucky posts too. I haven’t hiccuped since I started my blog six years ago…
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🙂 hopefully it’s reusable and not a one and done…
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That would be good, for those with chronic hiccuppingupping problems.
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🙂
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I very rarely get hiccups, Jim, but they are horrible when they occur. Promising me money always worked when I was a girl, not a single hiccup would appear in exchange for that small sum of money.
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the power of the mind. And knowing you, I am guessing you took that money and invested it somewhere 🙂
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Well, actually, when I was a girl, I used to save my money to buy people Christmas presents which I used to wrap myself and cover with ribbons and bows.
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I knew you would put it to good use…
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I’m glad to have this problem seldom. Drinking water and then holding my breath seems to work on the rare occasion that I get them. I’m for anything like this that improves the quality of life.
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and I also like when it is a relatively simple solution. at least it appears to be simple…
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If someone gets hiccups, give them a fisst to the mouth.
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🙂
now is that a pun or a double entendre?
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A double puntendre?
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ok. I knew there was something special about it…
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I decided to practice sucking water, contracting my diaphragm, closing my epiglottis, and stimulating my nerves phrenic and vagus so I could be ready when the time comes. I threw up this time but expect to get better after I try it 10,000 times.
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I think that’s illegal in Kansas.
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as long as no one else was harmed, it’s probably ok…
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Lol
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and think of the money you’ll save by not buying one of these contraptions…
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Interesting!
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👍
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I think if science has brought us to the point where we can fly a helicopter on Mars, solving hiccups should not be a stretch. This device will change the quality of life for many people I hope. Interesting post, Jim!
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Maybe we need more rocket scientists to be working on devices like this, and not be so focused on Mars 🙂
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brilliant!!
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👍
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So what about just drinking from a regular straw?
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I’m wondering if somehow this strong is just really hard to suck through, and that’s where the benefit comes from…
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Scary! One of the best way to get rid of hiccups is to intentionally try to keep hiccuping.
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Frankly, I’d have thought that a well-aimed FIST to the face would have been just as effective…
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maybe you can volunteer for such a study…
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As a lifelong coward….no thanks 😂
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but what if you could be the one doing the punching?
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I’m not a violent person, but there are some for whom I’d happily make an exception…
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well maybe with any luck you’ll be standing next to such a person when they get the hiccups…
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You never know 🤞
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hope springs eternal…
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Lol, I myself have used a 100% technique that works for me, which is to take 50–100 small sips (the R&D for this straw thingie did say that swallowing helps after all) in a row. Has never failed me to date.
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just sips of water?
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Yup, just sips of water. But the trick is you have to keep swallowing the sips without stopping, until your hiccups go away. For me, that’s 50–100 sips, which can be pretty tiring, tbh. But it 100% works for me!
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the key is you found what works for you!
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This is really great assuming it works as advertised. Sounds like a twist on the old remedy of drinking water. It would be nice to come up with a name other than FISST.
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I agree, they have to come up with a better name…
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You scared me too much and now my hiccups are worse… I remember watching an episode where someone died because of their hiccups and I was pretty shocked so I did some research and apparently hiccups can get pretty bad sometimes.
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sorry 🙂
And I have also heard for some people hiccups can be a major health issue; hopefully a product like this could help…
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I’m not sure why the acronym FISST makes me chuckle! Lol am I the only person who doesn’t mind hiccups? 😂 I don’t get it often though!
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fisst is a strange acronym for sure! and I don’t mind hiccups either, but I guess for some people they can be problematic
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