They”re annoying and seem to strike at the most inconvenient times! It would certainly be a relief to know how to get rid of hiccups when they suddenly strike.
Just what are hiccups and what causes them?
Hiccups are involuntary spasms of the diaphragm. They occur when the diaphragm is irritated such as by eating too much in general, eating too many fatty foods, swallowing excessive air when eating, or drinking too much. They are usually relatively short lived and will eventually resolve on their own, although there are cases where people have had to be hospitalized for hiccups that failed to resolve after a reasonable period of time. In general, if hiccups persist after a period of three hours, you should seek medical attention.
How do you get rid of hiccups?
Most remedies for hiccups center around increasing the levels of carbon dioxide in your blood stream or stimulating the vagus nerve which feeds into the spasmodic diaphragm. Here are tactics that seem to work for some people:
1. Drink a glass of water rapidly.
This is a time tested strategy that appears to work for a significant portion of the population.
2. White sugar
Put a half teaspoonful of sugar on the back of your tongue. Alternatively, you can swallow a tablespoonful of white sugar straight from the spoon. A study done in the New England Journal of Medicine showed this method was effective for 95% of people who used it.
3. Yogurt and salt
Mix around 4 ounces of unflavored yogurt with 2 teaspoons of salt. Mix thoroughly. Eat this concoction slowly. This seems to be an effective way to get rid of hiccups in a sizeable portion of people.
4. Use the power of citrus fruits
Eating a piece of citrus fruit such as an orange, tangerine, or lemon has been known to stop hiccups dead in their tracks in some people.
5. Try some herbs.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, you can abort an attack of hiccups by sucking on slices of ginger root.
6. Stick your fingers in your ears.
This method seems to work by stimulating the vague nerve that feeds into the spasmodic diaphragm.
7 Blow into a paper bag
Find an ordinary paper bag. Cover your nose and mouth with it and breath in and out repeatedly. This works by increasing levels of carbon dioxide in your blood stream which appears to be effective in stopping a hiccup attack.
8. Hold your breath.
This reportedly works for many people. I’ve tried it on my own hiccups and have never found it to be successful. It makes sense that it would be effective breath holding increases levels of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.
9. Tickle the roof of your mouth.
This hiccup cure was published in the Journal of Gastroenterology in 1985 as a method that apparently works in a significant proportion of people.
Just remember not every potential cure will work for everyone and you may have to try more than one method to get rid of hiccups. It may not be reassuring to know but the longest bout of hiccups lasted almost 60 years!
