Girl From UK Hasn't Stopped Hiccuping For 10 Weeks
Emily Marsh didn't think much of it when she got a case of the hiccups back in January while on her way to math tutoring. Now after 10 months of hiccupping every two seconds, the constant irritation has affected her life to the point that she has to leave school early each day.
A hiccup is a result of an unprovoked spasm of the diaphragm followed quickly by the obstruction of the vocal cords producing the distinctive noise. Chronic hiccups, or intractable hiccups, can stick around for an extended period of time causing the person a great deal of pain and discomfort.
Intractable hiccups are those that last for more than a month and are accompanied by physical discomfort and added stress on the throat muscles. Acute hiccups are the common form that may last a couple of minutes and may be cured by simple at-home remedies.
Acute hiccupping can be triggered by several factors including alcohol, carbonated beverages, sudden excitement and over-eating. Intractable hiccups are generally triggered by a more serious condition such as alcoholism, nerve damage, a stroke or a serious brain injury.
Emily's doctors at St. Helier Hospital in Epsom, Surrey have no answer for her rare condition especially because of how young she is at 13-years-old. She has gone through pretty much every test the hospital has to offer including ultrasounds, MRI scans, chest X-rays, biopsies and endoscopies.
In addition she has been prescribed two forms of medication: domperidone, used for the treatment of nausea and omeprazole, used for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, the Daily Mail reported.
Emily's family has also utilized every at-home remedy for hiccups they can think of with no avail. These standard hiccup therapies include holding your breath and counting to ten, eating a teaspoon of sugar, drinking water, breathing into a paper bag or even hanging upside down.
The longest bout of hiccups on record, featured in the Guinness Book of World Records, belongs to Charles Osbourne. While working as a farmer back in 1922, the native of Iowa began hiccupping uncontrollably after a 350 pound hog fell on top of hm. 68 years later in 1990 his hiccups finally ended.