Use This Trick to Stop Yourself From Throwing Up
We’ve all experienced panic, uncomfortable moments (or many) when that horrible, all-consuming feeling of “Oh shit, I’m about to vomit” takes over our body and makes us run for the nearest vessel, or a sink, or a patch of grass, or any other place that is not our own shirt and pants. While we can’t promise that your stomach contents will stay down indefinitely (if they have to come out, they will eventually), this hack can help you keep your nausea in check for a while until you get to a better place. to free him.
When TikTok creator @onlyjayus posted a video outlining several disease prevention tricks, one of which was humming to suppress the urge to vomit, as is the case with most social media health hacks, I was skeptical. But that claim has since been corroborated by Dr. Karan Rajan , an NHS surgeon at Imperial College London, who uses his nearly 5 million subscriber platform to give medical advice and separate fact from medical fiction.
Why does this trick prevent or delay vomiting? According to Rajan, mooing suppresses the gag reflex. As Dr. Ross Perry , medical director of Cosmedics skin clinics, also explains to the Daily Mail : “Quite often, when the gag reflex kicks in, it can cause all sorts of feelings of stress and anxiety. By controlling and regulating your breathing, it helps you to relax. It’s really hard to choke and hum at the same time.”
Perry added other recommendations to increase the gag reflex, such as brushing the tongue or sprinkling it with salt to activate the taste buds. “What method works for one may not work for another, but ultimately it’s about focusing on something else rather than the gag movement,” he added.
(By the way, another doctor-confirmed trick from the original video was to sniff rather than swallow rubbing alcohol when you feel sick.)
As the parent who caught children’s vomit with their bare hands and regretfully cleaned it from car seats, floor mats, and expensive carpets, I’m sure to pass on this buzzing gem of wisdom to my little ones. Whether they will have the emotional strength to perform the break-in when the time comes is unclear, but I plan to organize dress rehearsals before future trips.
But for us adults, this hack seems to be easily applicable. So the next time you’re feeling the urge to get clean, try humming, at least long enough to get to the bathroom.