Digital Rectal Massage - A
2006 Ig Nobel Award-winning medical technique used to terminate intractable hiccups. DRM has been shown to
stop hiccups within 30 seconds when "attempted using a slow circumferential
motion." Please see Francis M. Fesmire's various medical publications for precise details.
(1) "DRM was then attempted using a slow circumferential
motion. The frequency of hiccups immediately
began to slow, with a termination of all hiccups within 30 seconds." -- Fesmire,
case report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
(2) "A 60-year-old
man with acute pancreatitis developed persistent hiccups after insertion of a nasogastric
tube. Removal of the latter did not terminate the hiccups which had also been treated with
different drugs, and several manoeuvres were attempted, but with no success. Digital rectal massage DRM was then performed resulting in abrupt cessation of the hiccups. Recurrence of the hiccups occurred several hours
later, and again, they were terminated immediately with digital rectal massage. No other recurrences were observed. This is the second reported
case associating cessation of intractable hiccups with DRM. We suggest that this manoeuvre should be considered in cases of intractable hiccups before proceeding with pharmacological agents." -- Odeh M, Bassan H, Oliven A., "Termination of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage", Journal of Internal Medicine.
