Man seeks surgery for non-stop hiccups

A singer who estimates that he has hiccupped almost 10 million times in the last 15 months is to undergo an operation to cure him from the condition.

Christopher Sands, 24, has tried all manner of remedies - ranging from old wives’ tales like eating honey while hanging upside down, to hi-tech cures such as sitting in a compression chamber - since his hiccupping fit began in February 2007.

Now he is to undergo keyhole surgery after doctors diagnosed a damaged stomach valve. The faulty valve has been causing acid reflux - a condition where stomach acid leaks into the gullet causing heartburn and hiccups.



”I’m pinning all my hopes on this operation. I want my life back,” said Mr Sands from Lincoln, Lincs.

“I’m losing my mind. I can hardly eat or sleep. I can’t socialise. I can’t work or drive and it’s next to impossible to make music.”

Mr Sands estimates he hiccups once every two seconds for 12 hours a day. Therefore he hiccups 1,800 times in an hour. That works out at 21,600 hiccups a day, nearly 7.9 million a year and approaching 10 million times in the last 15 months.

There's a video interview with Mr Sands on this page.