Some tips to get rid of hiccups are swallow thrice while holding your breath, drink a glass of water, gargle with water, or do something to distract yourself. Although hiccups often stop on their own but sometimes these remedies might help.
How to stop hiccups
Before we get to the eradication of the problem we must know about the problem. Before trying to understand how to get rid of hiccups, we must understand the cause and methods to eliminate them and things to avoid their spread.
What are hiccups
A hiccup is a biological phenomenon, that occurs due to the non-symmetric working of the diaphragm. In most cases, hiccups do not last for more than two to three minutes. But in certain acute conditions, hiccups can last for more than or up-to forty-eight hours in which a person must see a general physician.
Methods to stop hiccups:
In the majority of the cases, hiccups stop on their own. But in a few cases, they do not stop, and a few remedies might come in handy. Such as the one detailed below.
1. Holding breath for a minute: the holding of breath is the number trick that might come in handy if you need to stop a hiccup. When you hold your breath for a minute during hiccups, it gives a little settling time to the diaphragm and the involuntary motor actions. Thus, every phenomenon starts back to normal.
2. Stool position: if your hiccups do not stop on their own, then this method can also turn out to be effective. You just press your knees against your chest and lean forward. This forces the irregular air in the body to move out, and get rid of hiccups nice and easy.
3. Scare a person: yes, you might be thinking that this must be a joke. But no, if a person is having hiccups, and you scare him, his hiccups are scared away too. It is because when adrenaline rushes in then voila. Hiccups are cured.
4. Drink ice cold water: if you drink ice-cold water or simply cold-water during hiccups, then you can fend off hiccups.
5. Bite on a lemon or taste vinegar: if you can get your hands on any acidic material during hiccups, you can easily cure hiccups. But keep in mind the acidic material should be edible.
6. Pull on your tongue: if you pull on your tongue, it stimulates a response in the throat, it might help in curing hiccups.
7. Press on your diaphragm: if a person tries to pull his diaphragm during hiccups, it might regulate the airflow in that person.
8. Breathe into a paper bag: do not use a plastic bag. Use a paper bag to breathe in and out, and it might help in getting rid of hiccups.
9. Gargle: if you gargle with warm water for thirty to thirty-five seconds, it can also turn out to be effective in getting rid of hiccups.
10. Bite on sugar: if we bite onto sugar, then it will spike up sugar levels. This will help in fighting hiccups.
11. Tap or rub the back of your neck: rub the skin at the back of your neck may stimulate your phrenic nerve.
12. Poke the back of your throat with a cotton swab: gently swab the back of your throat with a cotton swab until you gag or cough. Your gag reflex may stimulate the vagal nerve.
13. Distract yourself with something engaging: hiccups often go away on their own when you stop focusing on them. Play a video game, fill out a crossword puzzle, or do some calculations in your head.
14. Engage in something distracting: the last but one of the most important things that might be effective in curing is to get engaged in something distracting. It can be either a movie or a song or something other. By this, your reflex action gets pointed to something else. And your hiccups can get cured.
Some hiccup cures that are useful every time shown in this video
Summary : If you are having a hiccup, just try it drink cold water, bite lemon, or try distracting yourself. Pressing the diaphragm gently or pulling the tongue out are some of the other methods used to cure a hiccup
Things to avoid during hiccups: o
Of course, many things can help during hiccups, some things can make it even worse as well.
1. Do not drink fizzy drinks: if you drink carbonated or fizzy drinks to get rid of hiccups, then you are mistaken. The gases in these drinks might make things worse.
2. Do not eat anything: if you try to eat anything during a hiccup, it can turn out to be very harmful. Because due to involuntary action of air going in and going out, food can go into the wrong pipe and cause serious harm.
3. Do not run: the biggest mistake you make during a hiccup is to try to run. Because the air builds up, causes serious problems within the person.
Summary : Do not run or try to eat anything during a hiccup as it might go to your windpipe. Avoid taking carbonated drinks as they act as irritants for the diaphragm.
Why do we get hiccups
Hiccups can occur due to several reasons. Some of the reasons can be:
1. Stress: sometimes, stress can cause a person to experience hiccups.
2. Excitement: sometimes, strong emotions such as excitement can start an involuntary action of the diaphragm and causes hiccups.
3. Eating and drinking: the major cause of hiccups might be the wrong ways or patterns or timings a person eats or drinks.
How to get rid of hiccups for kids
Eating too quickly or excessive feeding, gastric irritants, excitement, or rushing air are the common causes of hiccups in children.
Some natural remedies to get rid of hiccups in babies and young childern are:
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Remedies like holding breath or breathing in a paper bag might not be helpful for kids. So, one must ask the kid to inhale at the same time when a hiccup comes. It helps to stop the hiccup in kinds
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One of the common distraction to avoid hiccups is to bring on the tickles, which will keep your child’s mind off the hiccups
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Drinking cold water helps soothe the irritated diaphragm and brings the normal movement pattern back
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Try to put pressure on your child’s upper part of the stomach with light hands every time a hiccup comes.
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Peppermint or fennel tea are natural herbs that act as muscle relaxants. Just make your kid have the warm tea with a dropper slowly
How to stop hiccups when drunk
When you drink something carbonated, it causes the stomach to expand, which causes the diaphragm to contract involuntarily.
Some of the body positions to avoid hiccups are:
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Lean forward and put the knees to the chest
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Put pressure on your diaphragm by bending forward
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Rubbing the back of the neck
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Close your nose and exhale with your mouth
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Hold your breath
Other tips like eating sugar, biting on lemon, and drinking ice water are the same tips as for an undrunk person.
Get rid of hiccups pressure point
Pressure points to get rid of hiccups are:
1. Diaphragm
Press diaphragm gently to relax te involuntary muscle contractions
2. Nose
Press each side of nose while swallowing at the same time as the hiccup occurs
3. Tongue
Pulling the tongue out with fingers sometimes eases the spasm and diaphragm contractions
Summary: Nervousness, excitement, stress, or overeating are the reasons that cause hiccups. For a kid, you cannot just stop breathing so, try adding peppermint or fennel tea. Cold water, gentle pressure on the stomach, and distractions via tickles are also effective. The remedies are the same for the drunk person but, some changes in positions like rubbing neck or diaphragm
Frequently asked questions
1. How do you stop hiccups naturally?
Some tips to cure hiccups naturally are to drink ice water or suck on an ice cube. One can consider eating some sugar or honey as well. Holding the breath or squeezing the nose while swelling water is sometimes effective as well.
2. Are hiccups a sign of overfeeding?
Small contractions in the diaphragm, like tiny muscle spasms, leading to hiccups and might be triggered by overfeeding or swallowing too much air. Walk or burp sometimes help to overcome hiccups
3. Why do I wake up with hiccups?
Any factor that irritates your diaphragm while sleeping might result in a hiccup. One of the major causes is the sudden closure of vocal cords while sleeping. Some other causes include gastrointestinal reflux disease and sleep apnea.
4. What medicine can stop hiccups?
Chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and metoclopramide are the most effective agents against acute or long-term hiccups. Some anticonvulsant drugs, muscle relaxants, and anesthetic agents have also been proved beneficial.
Conclusion
Hiccups are a biological phenomenon that occurs due to stress, excitement, or overfeeding. One must go for the natural ways, as mentioned above, to get rid of this uncomfortable situation. The acute or long-term episodes of hiccups are cured with the help of some medicines as well.