Science

STRAW with 'forceful suction' promises to stop the hiccups instantly


Forget drinking from the wrong side of the glass! £10 3D-printed STRAW with ‘forceful suction’ promises to stop the hiccups instantly

  • Scientists claim a £10 3D-printed straw with ‘forceful suction’ can stop hiccups
  • Works by creating pressure when you sip, which in turn lowers your diaphragm
  • It also opens and closes your epiglottis, which shuts the windpipe while eating
  • This stimulates two nerves, which tell your brain to reset and stops the hiccups

Holding your breath, drinking water from the far side of a glass and being scared by your friend.

We’ve all tried the home remedies for hiccups with varying degrees of success.

But now scientists believe they have found a cure in the form of a 3D-printed straw with ‘forceful suction’ which is available to buy in the UK and US for £10 ($14).

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Solution? Scientists believe they have found a cure for hiccups in the form of a £10 straw (pictured) with 'forceful suction'. It promises to stop hiccups after one or two sips of water

Solution? Scientists believe they have found a cure for hiccups in the form of a £10 straw (pictured) with ‘forceful suction’. It promises to stop hiccups after one or two sips of water

The HiccAway: Nine out of ten of the 203 people who trialled the device said it was a lot better at stopping hiccups than home remedies such as holding your breath. Pictured is how it works

The HiccAway: Nine out of ten of the 203 people who trialled the device said it was a lot better at stopping hiccups than home remedies such as holding your breath. Pictured is how it works

The research into the straw was carried out by the University of Texas' Health Science Centre

The research into the straw was carried out by the University of Texas’ Health Science Centre

HOW DOES THE STRAW STOP HICCUPS? 

Hiccups are caused by involuntary contractions of your diaphragm which lead to your vocal cords closing very briefly and creating the ‘hic’ sound.

The HiccAway straw works by creating pressure when you sip, which in turn lowers your diaphragm and opens and closes your epiglottis. 

This is a flap of tissue that sits beneath the tongue at the back of the throat. Its main function is to close the windpipe while you’re eating to prevent food entering your airway.

Two nerves are then stimulated, researchers claim, telling your brain to reset and thus stopping the hiccups.

Develops of the HiccAway claim you hiccups will be cured after one or two sips of water. 

It promises to stop hiccups instantly after one or two sips of water from the reusable straw. 

Branded HiccAway, its developers claim it works by creating pressure when you sip from the straw, which in turn lowers your diaphragm and opens and closes your epiglottis. 

This is a flap of tissue that sits beneath the tongue at the back of the throat. 

Its main function is to close the windpipe while you’re eating to prevent food entering your airway, but when you hiccup it closes and produces the characteristic ‘hic’ sound. 

Two nerves are then stimulated, researchers claim, telling your brain to reset and thus stopping the hiccups.

Nine out of ten of the 203 people who trialled the device as part of its Kickstarter campaign said it was significantly better at stopping hiccups than traditional home remedies such as holding your breath or drinking water from the far side of a glass. 

The research was carried out by the University of Texas’ Health Science Centre. 

‘This study supports the use of [the straw] as an option to stop transient hiccups, with more than 90 per cent of participants reporting subjectively superior results compared with home remedies,’ the authors said. 

‘Many home remedies consist of physical manoeuvres designed to stimulate contraction of the diaphragm and/or closure of the epiglottis. 

Prototype: Branded HiccAway, its developers claim it works by creating pressure when you sip from the straw, which in turn lowers your diaphragm and opens and closes your epiglottis

Prototype: Branded HiccAway, its developers claim it works by creating pressure when you sip from the straw, which in turn lowers your diaphragm and opens and closes your epiglottis

How it works; Two nerves are then stimulated, researchers claim, telling your brain to reset and thus stopping the hiccups. Pictured is an image from a demonstration video

How it works; Two nerves are then stimulated, researchers claim, telling your brain to reset and thus stopping the hiccups. Pictured is an image from a demonstration video

‘These manoeuvres lack clear, standardised instructions and can be cumbersome to perform, and there are few, if any, scientific studies of their effectiveness.’

The straw has a mouthpiece at the top and an adjustable cap with a pressure value on the lower end. 

Sufferers of hiccups are instructed to get a glass, half-fill it with water and submerge the lower end of the straw. 

They should then ‘forcefully suck’ through the mouthpiece and swallow the water, which researchers claim will stop the sudden, involuntary spasm of the diaphragm muscle.

It does this by restricting the airflow to create pressure while you are sipping a drink, which in turn helps the brain reset and stops hiccups, the scientists said.

The research is published in the journal JAMA Network Open



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