Hiccups may be interesting but science behind them is more interesting
The word singultus is Latin for “to catch one’s breath while crying.” The blog Medical Student’s Diaries defines the motion of a hiccup as the involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, occurring at the same time as the contracting of the voice box, and the closure of the glottis, which together blocks air intake. The glottis is located in the middle part of the larynx, where the vocal cords are, and when it snaps shut, it causes that telltale hiccup noise.
Causes Of Hiccups
Hiccups can be caused by shock, stress, alcohol consumption, smoking, a sudden change in temperature, excitement, and overeating. Many of these things irritate the esophagus, which can trigger the hiccups.
No one knows why hiccups existstrong text
Some scientists say that hiccups are a trait left over from our evolutionary past—that the muscles that make us hiccup were originally intended for our gills, according to Buzzfeed. Others say that hiccups help fetuses prepare for breathing by exercising their muscles.
The longest case of hiccups lasted for 68 years
A normal episode of hiccups lasts a few minutes, but a man named Charles Osborne had hiccups from 1922 to 1960, until he was 96 years old. They stopped one year before he died
Humans aren’t the only ones who hiccup
Most mammals hiccup, surprisingly. But humans tend to hiccup more than any other animal. It’s more common for babies to get hiccups than adults, and fetuses are known to hiccup in the womb
Home remedies for hiccups aren’t proven
There is no slam-dunk remedy for hiccups—except a prescription medicine. So don’t worry if such tactics as trying to scare yourself, hold your breath, or drink a glass of water upside down don’t work for you. Many hiccup home remedies, such as breathing into a paper bag, release calcium ions into the blood to block nervous system activity. That might cause a decrease in muscle spasms, but it’s not definite and it isn’t guaranteed to make your hiccups stop
The few folk remedies that seem to be based on a reasonable scientific concept involve holding your breath or breathing into a paper bag.
At least for patients with intractable hiccups, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide they breathe has been shown to decrease how often they hiccup.
Holding your breath does something similar: “You’re blocking the motor pattern as well as leading to a buildup of carbon dioxide,” Provine says. Breathing into a paper bag would also increase carbon dioxide in the body.
How do you stop hiccups?
There are many ways to stop hiccups
• Drinking water
• Bite a lemon
• Hold your breath for some time
What medicine is used to stop hiccups?
Several effective things that are used to stop hiccups are:
• Chlorpromazine
• Haloperidol
• Metoclopramide
• Also some anticonvulsant