Follow UK investment immigration and listen to stories from the UK: Amanda Colby, a British woman, has been hiccuping every day for nearly 11 years, which has caused her great distress and severely impacted her daily life.
Greatly Distressed
Colby, now 46, lives in Hull and works at an arcade. The British newspaper "Daily Mail" reported on the 18th, citing Colby: "In 2003, one day at work, I started hiccuping. The next day, I was hiccuping even more severely. I don't know if it was because I ate something that didn't agree with me. For the rest of that week, the situation continued, and it gradually evolved from lasting for weeks to lasting for months and years. It has never stopped."
Now, her hiccups occur about 5 times a day, each lasting up to 10 minutes. When they occur, she hiccups every two seconds. Roughly calculated, she has hiccuped 3 million times to date.
Plagued by hiccups, Colby cannot even properly drink a cup of tea. The hiccups not only affect her daily life but also cause her to be mocked by colleagues and customers at the arcade.
Helpless
Hiccups, scientifically known as singultus, are a common physiological phenomenon caused by spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm. They are often related to diet, particularly eating too quickly or too much, consuming very cold or very hot food and drinks, or drinking alcohol. Changes in external temperature, excessive smoking, or being startled or anxious can also cause hiccups.
Frequent hiccups or those lasting more than 24 hours are called intractable hiccups and are often associated with certain medical conditions. After six months of continuous hiccuping, Colby saw a doctor, but no physical pathology was found.
Doctors believe that Colby's hiccups are most likely caused by diet. However, her case is extremely rare; not only were general practitioners helpless, but the hypnotherapy she later received was also ineffective. She said: "I have tried scaring myself, sipping water, and other methods, but none of them worked."
"Doctors don't know how to explain it to me," she said. "Hypnosis once stopped my hiccups for three months, but then it stopped working. I really don't know what to do next."
Preparing for the Worst
To treat hiccups, American inventor Schalk Rey invented a plastic hiccup straw similar to a straw, which is claimed to alleviate hiccup symptoms. The principle is that the person with hiccups bites down on the straw while drinking water; this combined action helps tense the throat muscles, thereby stopping the hiccups. It is reported that more than 10,000 of these hiccup straws have been sold online, but not all doctors agree with Rey's invention.
Given that Colby's hiccups have continued to this day, she has prepared for the worst.
She said: "I don't see any turning point that medical assistance could bring, nor do I think anyone can help."
"Perhaps talking to someone who has had a similar experience would help me, but I don't know who to look for. I think this situation will probably be with me for the rest of my life."
The world record for the longest continuous bout of hiccups is held by American Charles Osborne. He passed away in 1991, and he had been hiccuping from 1922 to 1990. The cause of Osborne's persistent hiccups was being startled when a pig bumped into him.