Drinking water with a pencil

This is not medical advice. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before starting or changing any treatment. Information here is based on personal experiences and may not apply to everyone.

Drinking water with a pencil

This is a simple home trick where you place a pencil horizontally between your teeth and drink a glass of water without removing it. The idea is that the pencil changes how you swallow and breathe, helping reset the diaphragm and stop hiccups. To do it, bite gently on the pencil, keep it in place, and slowly sip water from a cup until the hiccups improve. It may take a few tries, but it’s easy, safe, and can be surprisingly effective.

Treatment Type: Lifestyle

Treatment Class: N/A

Treatment Modality: N/A

Review Summary

5.0

1 Reviews

Preferred by 1 Reviewers

Based on the single review provided by Dr. Curbside, drinking water with a pencil appears to be an effective treatment for hiccups. The reviewer suggests that this simple solution works for many people, giving it a rating of 5 out of 5. However, more reviews and scientific evidence would be needed to comprehensively assess the efficacy of this treatment.

This summary was generated by users' reviews

Breakdown by Category

Each categories are rated on a 1–5 scale, with 5 being the most favorable outcome and 1 being the least. These scores are averaged across all user reviews to provide a clear sense of how this treatment typically performs in each area.

Cost

5.0

1 = Very Expensive 5 = Very Affordable

5.0

Very Affordable

Relief Speed

5.0

1 = No Relief 5 = Immediate Relief

5.0

Immediate Relief

Side Effects

5.0

1 = Intolerable Effect 5 = No Effect

5.0

No Effect

Treatment Line

5.0

1 = Third-line or more 5 = First-line

5.0

First-line

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5.0

1 Reviews

100%

AI Summary of User Experiences

Not medical advice.

Reviews

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Cost

Very Expensive

$1000+

Expensive

$501 to $1000

Moderate Cost

$101 to $500

Affordable

$25 to $100

Very Affordable

$25

Relief Speed

No Relief

No noticeable improvement

Slow Relief

Several days to weeks

Moderate Relief

Within 1 - 3 days

Fast Relief

Within hours

Immediate Relief

Within minutes

Side Effect

Intolerable Side Effect

Caused treatment to stop or required hospitalization

Severe Side Effect

Difficult to tolerate, may require intervention

Moderate Side Effect

Noticeable, but manageable

Mild Side Effect

Minor, not bothersome

No Side Effect

Without any adverse effects

Treatment Line

Third-line or more

Used after second-line failed or multiple prior treatment

Second-line

Used after first-line treatment failed or was unsuitable

First-line

First treatment tried

Dr. Curbside

Verified

Physician • Emergency Medicine • How doctors think about decisions — and what real-world experiences add

1 month ago

One of those tricks I learned when I was younger that actually works pretty well. Biting on a pencil while drinking water helps change breathing and diaphragm movement, which can stop hiccups. There are plenty of other techniques out there, but this one is simple and worth trying.

#VeryAffordable #ImmediateRelief #NoEffect #First-line #Rescue/EmergencyUse

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