Hiccups – Healthy.net https://healthy.net Sun, 15 Sep 2019 15:59:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://healthy.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/cropped-Healthy_Logo_Solid_Angle-1-1-32x32.png Hiccups – Healthy.net https://healthy.net 32 32 165319808 Hiccups https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/hiccups/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hiccups Wed, 06 Dec 2000 13:28:02 +0000 https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/hiccups/ Hiccups are simple enough to explain: Your diaphragm (the major muscle involved in breathing which sits like a cap over the stomach) goes into spasm. Things that promote hiccups are:

  • Eating too fast, which causes you to swallow air along with food.
  • Eating fatty foods to the point where they make the stomach full enough to irritate the diaphragm.

According to a doctor who studies hiccups, there is a hiccup center in the brain which triggers a spasm of the esophagus setting in motion the cycle leading to hiccups. This, he thinks, is a protective mechanism to keep a person from choking on food or drink. Luckily, hiccups are generally harmless and don’t last very long.



Self-Care Tips

Luckily, there’s no shortage of hiccup cures, and better still, most of them work (although some baffle medical science). A study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 1 teaspoon of ordinary table sugar, swallowed dry, cured hiccups immediately in 19 out of 20 people. (Some of whom had been hiccuping for as long as six weeks). If this doesn’t stop the hiccups right away, repeat it 3 times at 2 minute intervals. [Note: For young children, use a teaspoon of corn syrup.]


Other popular folk remedies worth trying include:


  • Hold your tongue with your thumb and index finger and gently pull it forward.
  • With your neck bent backward, hold your breath for a count of ten. Exhale immediately and drink a glass of water.
  • Breathe into and out of a paper (not plastic) bag.
  • Swallow a small amount of finely cracked ice.
  • Massage the back of the roof of your mouth with a cotton swab. A finger works equally well.
  • Eat dry bread slowly.
  • Drink a glass of water rapidly.

Questions to Ask


























Do the hiccups occur with severe abdominal pain and spitting up of blood or blood in the stools?
Yes: Seek Emergency Care
No

Have the hiccups lasted longer than 8 hours in an adult or 3 hours in a child?
Yes: Call Doctor
No

Have the hiccups started only after taking prescription medicine?
Yes: Call Doctor
No
Provide Self-Care








Healthy Self: The Guide to Self-Care and Wise Consumerism

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine


]]> 14919 Childhood Hiccups https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/childhood-hiccups/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=childhood-hiccups Wed, 06 Dec 2000 13:28:02 +0000 https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/childhood-hiccups/

Hiccups happen when the diaphragm tightens up. (The diaphragm is a muscle used in breathing. It sits like a cap on top of the stomach.)

Babies usually get hiccups because they swallow air when feeding. The stomach gets bigger and squeezes the diaphragm. Sucking hard or eating too much can make hiccups worse. It helps to burp the baby often when feeding.

Older children get hiccups from drinking too much soda pop or eating too much too fast. An upset or too-full stomach can lead to hiccups. Hiccups can hurt, but they are usually harmless. And they don’t last very long.

Questions to Ask









Does your child have these problems with the hiccups?
  • Very bad stomach pain
  • Spitting up blood
Yes:See Doctor
No
Have your child’s hiccups lasted longer than 3 hours?Yes:Call Doctor
No
Did the hiccups start after your child took a prescription medicine?Yes:Call Doctor
No
Self-Care

Self-Care Tips


  • Give your child 1 teaspoon of sugar. Have him or her swallow it fast. Do it 3 or more times, once every 2 minutes, if the hiccups don’t stop right away. (Note: For younger children, use 1 teaspoon of corn syrup.)
  • Give babies a swallow of water.
  • Have your child lie down.

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