Described as a “forced inspiratory suction and swallow tool”, HiccAway is essentially a special type of plastic straw scientifically designed to almost instantly cure hiccups. According to a new study, the L-shaped tool works in 92% of cases.
From holding your breath and drinking water, to jump scares and anti-hiccup lollypops, there is no shortage of hiccup cures in the world, which only emphasizes how pesky of a problem it can be. Unfortunately, few, if any have a proven track record when it comes to efficiency, but, luckily, we now have a scientific solution that promises to end those annoying hiccups in over 90% percent of cases. It’s called HiccAway and it looks like a simple L-shaped piece of plastic, but there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.
When we get the hiccups, our diaphragm and intercostal muscles suddenly contract, and the abrupt intake of air causes the opening between the vocal folds to produce that “hic” sounds every one of us has experienced at least once in our lives. Luckily, simply using the HiccAway to sip a bit of water from a glass apparently cures the hiccups almost instantly.
The HiccAway straw has a mouthpiece at one end and an adjustable cap with a pressure valve, in the form of a small hole, at the other. The intense suction required to draw water up through the device requires the phrenic nerve to trigger a contraction of the diaphragm, while swallowing the water involves activation of the vagus nerve. It’s these two nerves that are responsible for the hiccups in the first place, so by keeping them busy with something else, we keep them from producing the annoying phenomenon.
Dr. Ali Seifi, a neurointensivist from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, came up with the design for the HiccAway after seeing his son’s McFlurry ice cream spoon. In fact, he says people can try to make one from a McFlurry spoon by sealing up most of the small hole at the top, to increase suction pressure. Or, you can just buy the real thing, for $14.
“It works instantly and the effect stays for several hours,” Dr Seifi told The Guardian newspaper, adding that the HiccAway works by essentially making our brain forget to keep spasming that diaphragm.
To evaluate the efficacy of his invention, Dr. Seifi co-authored a study published in the JAMA Network, which analyzed responses from 249 volunteers – over two-thirds of whom said they had hiccups at least once a month – who used the HiccAway. Results showed that it stopped hiccups in 92% of cases.
To prove that his devices isn’t just a gimmick, Seifi is planning a gold standard randomized controlled trial with hiccup experts in Switzerland and Japan. He plans to test HiccAway tools against plastic decoys, by giving them both to hiccup sufferers.
