Hiccups Are a New Symptom of COVID-19

JAKARTA – Hiccups are reported to be a new symptom of COVID-19. According to a Business Insider report, doctors at the Cook County Health Emergency Department have named an unusual case of COVID-19 this past April. Patients experience hiccups as the main symptom of the corona virus disease. This is unusual because hiccups are not reported or registered as a symptom of COVID-19.

Patient had hiccups for more than four days, for no reason. Apart from that, drastic weight loss in recent weeks. When doctors performed a chest x-ray, they suspected a lung tumor, what they found was ground-glass, a common characteristic of the lungs of COVID-19 patients, which makes the X-rays appear cloudy.

Reported by Times Now News, when the patient was tested for the new coronavirus, he tested positive for COVID-19.

A similar case was seen in June, in a study published online that had not been peer reviewed. A 64 year old man was taken to the emergency department after he complained of persistent hiccups and shortness of breath. When an X-ray is performed, a similar ground-glass pattern is observed. During testing, he also tested positive for COVID-19. (Also read: Study: Vegetarians Have Better Sex Lives).

Several cases like the one above have raised the question, are hiccups a persistent symptom of COVID-19? However, researchers do not have a definite answer for the same. Hiccups are very common among people around the world, and are often not the cause of health problems. However, examples like the one above can make people and researchers interested in exploring this further.

Trying to vaguely understand what can cause hiccups in COVID-19 patients, some doctors say the symptoms could be linked to the proven, researched and registered symptoms of digestive problems caused by COVID-19.

The argument is that if the virus can irritate the digestive tract, it can also impact the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm. This can cause involuntary contractions of the diaphragm, also known as hiccups.

However, this is only speculation. No specific studies have been conducted on this issue. Therefore, researchers recommend undergoing self-testing, and self-isolating for at least two weeks if you see common symptoms of COVID-19.

On the other hand, it is also important to continue to practice precautionary measures such as social distancing, wearing masks, and washing hands frequently to prevent the risk of contracting infection.

(tdy)

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