How to get rid of hiccups
Many people have been there, sat with a group of friends where one of them begins to hiccups and just can't stop hiccupping. This is when everyone begins to share their crazy cures for hiccups and discuss how to get rid of hiccups.Hiccups during sport or any activity can cause discomfort and impair concentration or performance. They can be frequent and mild or they can be infrequent and slightly painful. Hiccups however are harmless and there are many different cures of which usually don`t work. They will also often disappear of their own accord.
What Causes hiccups
Hiccups are caused by the diaphragm becoming unsynchronized due to the stomach having an involuntary spasm, perhaps from drinking too quickly or too much air being taken in whilst drinking as with babies when drinking from a bottle. Also eating quickly or whilst on the move. Eating spicy food and excessive drinking can also be a cause.
How to cure and get rid hiccups
This cure is simple so it is easy to get rid of hiccups! A person gently applies pressure with their middle fingers on the ears of the person suffering from hiccups in the same way as if shutting out noise. It is easier if the person holding the ears stands behind the person with hiccups as the sufferer needs to drink whilst their ears are being held. Three or four swallows should be adequate.This balances the air passing through to the diaphragm and the hiccups will cease.
Numerous home remedies for hiccups exist. The reason that these remedies are thought to work is that carbon dioxide build-up in the blood will stop hiccups, which is what happens when you hold your breath. If the vagus nerve that runs from the brain to the stomach is stimulated, hiccups can also be alleviated (this is what is happening when you drink water or pull on your tongue).
Here are some known methods to cure bad hiccups :
- Hold your ears and drink a pint of water.
- Drink a glass of water extremely fast.
- Scare yourself, somehow become frightened.
- Smelly salts are known to get rid of hiccups
- Grab your tongue and pull it hard.
- Place one-half teaspoon of dry sugar on the back of your tongue. (You can repeat this process 3 times at 2-minute intervals. Use corn syrup, not sugar, in young children.)
Some other strange suggestions as a cure for hiccups:
- Drop a cold key down your back.
- Lay on the floor and ask a friend to hold your legs in the air for 30 seconds.
- Hold your breath and hop on one leg.
- Hold your breath and dip your head in a sink full of cold water (surely hiccups aren't that bad?)
Medical Treatment for hiccups
Treatment for hiccups depends on how severe they are.
For the common hiccups that will usually stop on their own, home remedies are generally recommended.
For more severe, persistent hiccups, your doctor may try medications to manage your hiccups. Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) is usually the first prescription medication tried for hiccups, although drugs such as baclofen (Lioresal) and medications for convulsions such as phenytoin (Dilantin) have also been successful.
Surgery to disable the phrenic nerve (the nerve that controls the diaphragm) is often the treatment of last resort.