I’m out of ideas, says girl who has hiccuped for 10 weeks

With pix and video of poor girl hiccupping her way through interview Emily at home with sisters Natasha 15 (left) and Libby 10 EXPERTS are baffled by a schoolgirl who has been hiccupping non-stop for TEN WEEKS. Emily Marsh, 13, hiccups every two seconds. She even hiccups when she’s asleep. And she finds it so exhausting she’s been given afternoons off school to rest. Doctors say it’s extremely rare, but haven’t yet found a cure. Her hiccups started when she was on her way to a maths lesson in January, and haven’t stopped since.

CASCADE NEWS

Benedict Moore-Bridger

4 April 2013

A schoolgirl today told how she has been unable to stop hiccuping for 10 weeks and even does it in her sleep.

Emily Marsh, 13, from Wallington, Surrey, hiccups every two seconds and is so exhausted that she has to take afternoons off school.

Doctors say her condition is extremely rare.

Since being referred to St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Emily has had an MRI scan, ultrasound scan, chest X-ray, endoscopy, biopsies and a nasal chute to measure her pH levels.

Doctors have prescribed a variety of drugs and she has tried hypnosis, osteopathy and folk remedies.

Emily, a pupil at Stanley Park High School, Carshalton, said: “I have tried everything — even the spoonful of vinegar. That was horrible. I’ve tried drinking backwards, holding my breath and people at school have been trying to scare me a lot.”

Her mother Cathy Barrett, 45, said: “We will try anything. We are running out of ideas.”

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