A neuroscientist’s TikTok has gone viral after he revealed a £12 straw that can stop hiccups instantly—and clinical trials suggest it really works.
Dr Kareem Clark shared the discovery with his followers after coming across HiccAway, a rigid drinking straw launched in 2020 that later appeared on the US TV show Shark Tank.
The device was designed by Dr Ali Seifi, a professor of neurosurgery, and works by creating strong suction as the user sips through it.
This action lowers the diaphragm and activates the epiglottis—the flap at the back of the throat that prevents food entering the lungs.
In doing so, it stimulates two nerves linked to hiccups—the vagus and the phrenic nerves—effectively ‘resetting’ the brain and stopping the spasms.
To use it, the straw is simply submerged in water and the user must forcefully suck up the liquid and swallow.
It may sound too good to be true, but scientists at the University of Texas, working with Dr Seifi, tested the straw in a study published in JAMA Network in 2021.
They found it stopped hiccups in nearly 92 per cent of cases—and was rated more effective than any traditional home remedy.
Dr Clark expressed his surprise that society have found a little-known cure for hiccups on TikTok, which he came across whilst researching for a video
The straw has a pressure valve on the lower end which allows pressure to build as a user sucks water up through the straw
Despite this, Dr Clark says awareness is still surprisingly low, even though the straw could replace medications that are sometimes prescribed for stubborn cases and which carry unwanted side-effects.
In his viral TikTok clip—which has now been watched more than 1.5 million times — he exclaimed: ‘Why is this not bigger news?’
‘It’s not some high tech gadget. It’s a straw you suck through and it resets your diaphragm.’
Whilst most people experience hiccups from time to time, and they usually only last for a few minutes, many people find them disconcerting and in rare cases a sufferer may be left hiccuping for years.
Hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm muscle, which force air to be sucked into the lungs and the epiglottis to close, creating the characteristic ‘hic’ sound.
According to the NHS there is no obvious reason why a person gets hiccups, but some people find certain activities and emotions that will trigger their hiccups including stress, excitement, eating and drinking.
Given that hiccups is a phenomenon that will affect almost everyone at some point in their lives Dr Clark said he believes the scientists behind the straw should be given a nobel prize.
TikTok users took to the comments to express their surprise and share their experience with the straw, with many saying it cured their violent hiccups instantly.
Hiccaway was featured on Shark Tank as a 1 minute cure for hiccups and retails at $16.95 or £12.55 for a single straw
One user said: ‘My son gets hiccups—they wrack his body and hurt and upset him. We’ve used the straw four times… worked instantly each and every time.’
But other users, who didn’t know about the simple hack have had to resort to muscle relaxants to manage their painful symptoms.
Currently, the standard first-line treatment for chronic hiccups is chlorpromazine, a type of antipsychotic drug used to treat mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar.
The treatment works by regulating mood and relaxing the body, meaning it can also be used to treat nausea, vomiting and prolonged hiccups.
If hiccups persist, a patient may be prescribed a muscle relaxant such as baclofen to ease symptoms, especially if a sufferer is having difficulty sleeping, is losing weight or experiencing symptoms of depression as a result of chronic hiccups.
However, all these treatments are prescription-only and can cause a host of unpleasant side-effects including insomnia, muscle weakness, confusion, vision problems and ataxia—a group of disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .