A 60-year-old man with acute pancreatitis developed persistent hiccups after insertion of a nasogastric tube. Removal of the latter did not terminate the hiccups which had also been treated with different drugs, and several manoeuvres were attempted, but with no success. Digital rectal massage was then performed resulting in abrupt cessation of the hiccups. Recurrence of the hiccups occurred several hours later, and again, they were terminated immediately with digital rectal massage. No other recurrences were observed. This is the second reported case associating cessation of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage. We suggest that this manoeuvre should be considered in cases of intractable hiccups before proceeding with pharmacological agents."
I wonder just how many ‘manouevres’ must have been attempted before it got to the fingering.
Isn’t there an old wife’s tale that giving someone a fright gets rid of the hiccups. maybe the snapping of the rubber glove would be enough for complete cessation.
every 2-3 years I get the hiccups for a whole day, god knows how many brain cells i’ve killed holding my breath getting rid of them. it works temporarily but they come back and stick around the whole day. i’ll know what to do next time.
“This is the second reported case associating cessation of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage.” From this quote and the paper, the history of “rectal massage” to cure hiccups seems pretty well documented. I wonder what happened to the first patient though… Also, it’s interesting that the doctor felt the need to write a research paper about the treatment of a single patient with this method. Like he was thinking, this is revolutionary and the whole world must know.
The method that has always worked for me is taking 9 gulps of water without any breaths inbetween. Oddly, just holding my breath for an equivalent amount of time doesn’t do anything.
To each their own then. On second thought, I will probably stick with my current method. But clearly for some people, digital rectal massage is the preferred alternative.
The real cure is compressing the vagus nerve, however you manage to do it - hold your breath, drink water, whatever. My tried-and-true method (to be performed when you are alone) is thanks to an old wives’ tale from my old wife - drink water from a cup while bending over.
I wonder is the digital rectal massage succeeded simply because the patient was bending over and the uncomfortable sensation (or a pleasant one, take your pick, I don’t want to be judgy) caused him to move in a way that stimulated his vagus nerve.
Makes for an even more terrific pickup line -
“Hey baby, can I soothe your vagus nerve with a massage?”
I had the hiccups this weekend. I thought of this thread.
Some years ago my girlfriend at the time woke me up. Apparently I had hiccups in my sleep. I didn’t know that could happen. I didn’t believe her until I had another hiccup right there.
Maybe it’s a good thing she hadn’t read this article. Or maybe a bad thing, who knows…
If someone around you has the hiccups, bet they won’t have another. Something about them now actually trying to have one will cure it. It’s strange but I haven’t seen it fail yet. Of course it may depend on the wager. I guess just to be doubly sure, the bet could be if they do indeed have another, you’ll stick a finger in their 2 hole.
here’s the 100% cure: suck in as much air as you can and hold your breath as long as you can. Then, when you can’t hold it any more, suck in as much more air as you can and continue to hold your breath. Then, suck in and hold one more time as long as possible. and you’re cured!