diff --git a/sicsget.c b/sicsget.c
index c4ecc55c..69e6dbd0 100644
--- a/sicsget.c
+++ b/sicsget.c
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ static int countWords(char *txt)
   int count = 0;
   char *pPtr = txt;
 
-  while(pPtr != NULL){
+  while(pPtr != NULL && strlen(pPtr) > 0){
     count++;
     pPtr = stptok(pPtr,number,sizeof(number)," ");
   }