{"id":81707,"date":"2025-08-21T03:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T03:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/81707\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T03:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T03:52:10","slug":"finally-a-cure-for-hiccups-top-neuroscientist-hails-12-gadget-that-works-instantly-why-is-this-not-bigger-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/81707\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally, a cure for hiccups – top neuroscientist hails \u00a312 gadget that works instantly: ‘Why is this not bigger news?’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A neuroscientist’s TikTok<\/a> has gone viral after he revealed a \u00a312 straw that can stop hiccups instantly\u2014and clinical trials suggest it really works.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The device was designed by Dr Ali Seifi, a professor of neurosurgery, and works by creating strong suction as the user sips through it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This action lowers the diaphragm and activates the epiglottis\u2014the flap at the back of the throat that prevents food entering the lungs.<\/p>\n

In doing so, it stimulates two nerves linked to hiccups\u2014the vagus and the phrenic nerves\u2014effectively ‘resetting’ the brain and stopping the spasms.<\/p>\n

To use it, the straw is simply submerged in water and the user must forcefully suck up the liquid and swallow.<\/p>\n

It may sound too good to be true, but scientists at the University of Texas<\/a>, working with Dr Seifi, tested the straw in a study published in JAMA Network in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They found it stopped hiccups in nearly 92 per cent of cases\u2014and was rated more effective than any traditional home remedy.<\/p>\n

\"Dr <\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The straw has a pressure valve on the lower end which allows pressure to build as a user sucks water up through the straw\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In his viral TikTok clip\u2014which has now been watched more than 1.5 million times\u2014he exclaimed: ‘Why is this not bigger news?’<\/p>\n

‘It’s not some high tech gadget. It’s a straw you suck through and it resets your diaphragm.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Hiccaway <\/p>\n

Hiccaway was featured on Shark Tank as a 1 minute cure for hiccups and retails at $16.95 or \u00a312.55 for a single straw\u00a0<\/p>\n

One user said: ‘My son gets hiccups\u2014they wrack his body and hurt and upset him. We’ve used the straw four times… worked instantly each and every time.’<\/p>\n

But other users, who didn’t know about the simple hack have had to resort to muscle relaxants to manage their painful symptoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, the standard first-line treatment for chronic hiccups is chlorpromazine, a type of\u00a0 antipsychotic drug used to treat mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The treatment works by regulating mood and relaxing the body, meaning it can also be used to treat nausea, vomiting and prolonged hiccups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2014a group of disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A neuroscientist’s TikTok has gone viral after he revealed a \u00a312 straw that can stop hiccups instantly\u2014and clinical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,59,102,104,617,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-81707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-nhs","12":"tag-tiktok","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}