I don’t think anyone could have hiccups for months, and certainly not years, since it is impossible to eat or sleep when you have them. To cure them in about 30-45 seconds, stand BEHIND the “victim”/place both hands on the
victim’s shoulders, then place your first and middle fingers inside the “valley”
areas between victim’s collarbone, and shoulder muscle near outside edge of neck…both sides. Apply 8-10 pounds of downward pressure to your fingers. (This ultimately puts pressure on the phrenic nerve, which prevents it from
spasm.) This really works, folks. Now, if you want to REALLY amaze your friends, spray water on a house fly. Put the fly on a piece of paper towel. After 2-3 minutes, blot the fly with a portion of the paper towel, and you’ll see it fly away… Since flies breathe through their wings, you have just resuscitated a fly! (Seems like there ought to be a merit badge for that one.)
Welcome to the SDMB, ** Emanuel Ravelli**
Link to article: What are hiccups and why do we get them?
According to this site and many others online:
The record apparently is in the year 2000 edition of Guinness Book of Records.
Then mister Osborne is also holda the world record for stay awake for 60 years…and spilla more food on his coveralls than anyone else!
If it does bear out, it must have been a hellish experience.
Has anyone got access to a copy of Guinness Book to check this out?
Apparently, Osborne lived a “normal” life, was married and had children, according to some sources. Sounding miraculous.
I’m pretty sure flies don’t breath through their wings but through small vessels in the side of their bodies
Welcome to the SDMB, Xiphos. Yes, flies “breathe” through the outside of their exoskeleton.
I’ll accept the fly anatomy lesson with thanks, but until I’m in a room with a person that does not eat, drink or sleep for 4 weeks, I do not believe the various hiccup “records”. How did the Guinnes(sp?) derive at a figure of 4.5 million hiccups? Having the hiccups for 24 hours, then having them subside for a couple daysis believable. This “pattern” could continue for years, but no one on this planet can hiccup constantly non-stop for years. (!)
Your conclusion is based on a faulty assumption, and is therefore illogical. Since you freely admit you have never met anyone who has been afflicted with continuous hiccups, how could you conclude that it is impossible to eat or sleep with them? Just because it is your personal experience that eating and sleeping with hiccups is difficult, does not mean that no one could, nor does it mean it is impossible to become accustomed to them to the point that eating and sleeping is possible.
FI, you seem to be saying that you can’t say it’s impossible to have continuous hiccups unless you first meet someone who does have continuous hiccups. That makes my brain hurt.
Emanuel. Another welcome.
No doubt you nor any of your friends have the ability to build a vehicle to take you to the moon. But people have actually been to the moon. Just because you weren’t there, do you disbelieve that?
Emanuel Ravelli, a Marxian doubting Cecil! He brings shame to the entire Marxian community. Can I buy back my introduction to him?
If I read an entry in the Guinnesse Book that says a man produced non-stop hiccups for 60 years, I would wonder which member of their staff spent 60 years with that man to verify his “record,” which is my understanding as to how records are established. and did someone sit at his death bed and record the 420 millionth hiccup before the man died? I think the most logical way to research this would be in medical archives rather than the Guinness
Book. I have seen patients admitted to Intensive Care with the same symptoms pointed out by Ice Wolf in his example of the Texas man. At that time the treatment was controlled breathing of a O2/enriched CO2 mixture. I do not know what the prescribed medical treatment is today, but if it is possible to have continuous hiccups for 50+ years, I wonder why physicians
don’t tell the patient to “g’won back home, and just lead a normal life, because others have had your same problem for 60 years, so, don’t worry about it.” I do not believe “anything is possible.” I believe people have been
on the moon, because I’ve seen images of them on the moon. But I don’t
believe anyone has been on the sun, and I don’t believe the Guinness Book of Records for non-stop hiccups. I am 61 y.o, and have had hiccups maybe 10-12 times in my life. Does that mean I’ve had hiccups for 61 years? If so,
does that beat the “record” of Charles Osborne?
If I read an entry in the Guinnesse Book that says a man produced non-stop hiccups for 60 years, I would wonder which member of their staff spent 60 years with that man to verify his “record,” which is my understanding as to how records are established. and did someone sit at his death bed and record the 420 millionth hiccup before the man died? I think the most logical way to research this would be in medical archives rather than the Guinness
Book. I have seen patients admitted to Intensive Care with the same symptoms pointed out by Ice Wolf in his example of the Texas man. At that time the treatment was controlled breathing of a O2/enriched CO2 mixture. I do not know what the prescribed medical treatment is today, but if it is possible to have continuous hiccups for 50+ years, I wonder why physicians
don’t tell the patient to “g’won back home, and just lead a normal life, because others have had your same problem for 60 years, so, don’t worry about it.” I do not believe “anything is possible.” I believe people have been
on the moon, because I’ve seen images of them on the moon. But I don’t
believe anyone has been on the sun, and I don’t believe the Guinness Book of Records for non-stop hiccups. I am 61 y.o, and have had hiccups maybe 10-12 times in my life. Does that mean I’ve had hiccups for 61 years? If so,
does that beat the “record” of Charles Osborne? However, I would point out
that we can all believe what we want.
Emanuel Ravelli, I beg to differ with you. Due to some health conditions, I get hiccups rather frequently. I have never had any trouble eating while hiccuping.
Also, babies hiccup frequently, even before they are born. My son frequently hiccupped while he napped. Although I can’t say that an adult could sleep while hiccupping, I don’t see how it’s impossible.
The sneezing record seems to be a related item. From the GWR site:
According to the Keeper of the Records:
I believe they have a history of verifying records, and discarding junk ones. Unless someone comes up with medical proof that the hiccups record is bunk, I’ll believe GWR.
No problem. Now that I have your attention,… the following deals with Art History, so gather all your art history buffs to this site. But first, a short test: What was the only work that Michelangelo ever signed?
The Pieta. As I recall, Mike overheard some viewers of the sculpture attributing it to another contemporary artist. He got peeved and chiseled in a sig.
What site?
Ok just to talk about Hiccups very quickly.
There was a television programme over here in the UK, about 2 years ago, about a gurl who had, had the Hiccup’s for two months solid! Not sure how long they lasted… but 2 months is sometime…