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Researchers Say Drug Can Quickly Block Hiccups

Posted by michael on from the spoonful-of-sugar dept.

Ant writes: "If you can't cure your hiccups with a glass of water, a sudden scare or by holding your breath, an injection of the drug nefopam may help, according to a letter published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers in Rome said they were able to relieve incapacitating hiccups in three patients within a minute with a single injection of the drug, a painkiller that prevents shivering that is available outside the United States."

4 of 23 comments (clear)

  1. cheap cure for hiccups! by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2

    I've heard of a study done several years ago into the CAUSE of hiccups - apparently it's caused by a change in the pH of the blood, either too alkaline or too acidic.

    So, when you have the hiccups - what did you just eat? Something acidic? Something alkaline?

    Once you know, then you either eat a spoonful of sugar (if you think your blood is too acidic), or you drink some orange juice (if you think your blood is too alkaline). Voila.

    The drug in the article probably stabilizes one's pH, presumably. Either that or it only works for one type of pH imbalance.

    1. Re:cheap cure for hiccups! by tesserae · · Score: 2
      You can make your blood slightly more acidic very quickly: rebreathe into a largish paper bag for a couple of minutes (not plastic, please -- it's potentially too effective... you want to keep breathing, right?). CO2 blood levels go up, and you get a touch more acidic.

      This is the only real cure for hiccups I've found; it works every time, in just a couple of minutes. Everything else is just rolling the dice, as far as I can tell.

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      Politics is about making compromises. Religion isn't. --Michael Horton

  2. Err... no, Tumbleweed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    I am not a doctor (yet), but I can assure you that the sugar-OJ thing isn't anything more than increasing your abdominal pressure. OJ is acidic, but sugar consumption leads to acid production too. Hiccups are just spasms of your diaphragm. Judging by the ending of the drug, it's probably a benzodiazepine (a la Valium (diazepam) or Xanax (alprazolam)). They're excellent at stopping spasms - thus their use in epilepsy.

  3. Re:My cure by MostlyHarmless · · Score: 2

    Hmm... let's contrast the cure (which, although I haven't tried it, admittedly looks completely ridiculous)...

    with your sig: "There's another sucker born every minute."

    Riight... :-)

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