How does one "vagal" one's self?

This question refers to the vagus nerve. I am not even sure where this nerve is located, but some with cardio and/or pulminory probems are often taught how to “vagal” themselves. In other words, there is some throat action, IIRC, that massages the vagus nerve and/or tricks the brain into thinking the vagus nerve have been assuaged. [Not be confused with having nerve in a Los Vegas crap game :wink: ]

Anyway, I was wondering if someone could describe how it is done. And, is rubbing one’s tongue against the roof of one’s mouth the same thing? Or, perhaps a similar reaction? (I hear it possibly stops sneezes, hiccups, and probably a zillion other ailments.)

I’m sure some SDopers know more about this than I. Please fill me in!

  • Jinx

The vagus, or tenth cranial nerve, winds it’s way down from the brain to the soft palate, neck, larynx, heart and lungs. No wonder it means “wanderer”. I’d suggest doing a google search for “Valsalva maneuver”, a forced expiratory effort against a closed mouth and pinched nose (occluded glottis, actually) that can help divers clear their Eustachian tubes, change cardiac murmurs, compress the aorta, decrease then increase sympathetic tone, increase pressure in the jugular vein, help detect ventral hernias, etc. Rubbing your tongue against the roof is not the same thing, really, regardless what THAT cures.

Another thing that works in a subset of people is gentle pressure on the eyeballs.

Yeah, the tongue against the mouth, if it works at all, may be a placebo or psychosematic effect, I guess. As for the procedure you describe, I used ot have to “pop” my ears as a kid in similar way, but perhaps not [consciously] involving the epiglottis. But, I bet the “popping” was the clearing of the Eustachian tubes, no? I had a lot of trouble with wax build-up in the ear which was solved by tubes in the ears. As a temporary fix, my ENT recommended “popping” my ears (c. early 1970s)

The “tubes in the ears” was an overnight procedure back then. Now, I here they do it as outpatient in the ENT’s office, correct? WOW! (Q: Is there a technical term for this procedure? aka: Audio Tuberous Insertous??? LoL) - Jinx

Sorry, but I am uncertain to what, specifically, you were addressing:
What is this for, exactly…the vagalling, or the sneeze, hiccup thing? - Jinx

There are different ways of doing vagal stimulation, some involving manual stimulation and some involving devices. Essentially it amounts to massage or electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve at the various points on the body where the nerve is directly or indirectly accessible. The most common location is the throat, although sometimes the eyeballs or testicals can be used.

Vagal stimulation is a therapy for correcting certain heart arrhythmias and different kinds of seizures. However, vagal stimulation can also induce arrhythmias, so there is some risk in the maneuver.

I have also heard clinical anecdotes where people inadvertently vagal’d themselves from the vibrations of an electrical razor against the throat and woke up on the floor wondering what happened. The vagus is not a nerve to toy with unless you have a very good reason to do so.

The roof of the mouth has nothing to do with it. I don’t know what else it may or may not fix, although the vagus nerve has broad effects within the body.

IANA physician, google “vagal stimulation” for a wide variety of information on the subject.

I’m sure some SDopers know more about this than I. Please fill me in!

  • Jinx
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Having a patient induce a vagal effect on themselves is the first prehospital treatment for supraventricular tachycardia (heart rate >140).

We tell the patient to make like you’re having a bowel movement, just don’t have one (I haven’t had a mistake yet). As the patient sits there bearing down, their heart rate may come down (unless the SVT was caused by something else, then the medications get brought out).

I’ve hooked myself up to a monitor and managed to get myself down to the low 40’s doing the bearing down thing (I’m normally low 70’s). Freaks out the people watching you, let me assure you.

The vagal nerve response – it is called the oculocardiac reflex.

And of course this is why people are cautioned against straining too hard when constipated and to exhale on exertion. Holding breath + Bearing down = recipe to lower heart rate and possibly pass out.