/ 2 March 2007

Teenager’s hiccups stop … after five weeks

A Florida teenager finally took a long breath, uninterrupted by the hiccups that had plagued her for five weeks.

The hiccups stopped at about 5pm local time on Wednesday, the St Petersburg Times daily reported Thursday.

“Jennifer Mee had a few more spasms, but then she stopped and took her first uninterrupted breaths since … January 23,” the paper said.

No one seems to know what cured the 15-year-old girl from the western Florida city of St Petersburg, who had hiccupped almost uninterrupted for weeks.

Mee had seen an infectious disease specialist, a neurologist, a chiropractor, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist, took prescription medication and tried a patented device designed to stop hiccups, the paper said. She also appeared on the NBC network’s Today show.

Early Thursday morning, Jennifer said she hiccupped just one more time.

“Right now, my nose is burning and my throat hurts.”

But she felt a lot better than she had in weeks, the St Petersburg Times said. — AFP