Hiccups

Everyone gets them, they are annoying, and the truth is, especially after you have had them for a while, hiccups hurt! 

Considering all the advances of modern medicine, it seems someone would come up with a remedy that actually works, because if you have ever had hiccups for very long, you know that having someone jump out and say “boo!” does not cure your hiccups.  

A normal hiccup is just a little intake of air that produces that “hic” sound.  Hiccups occur when, for reasons unknown, the phrenic nerve that controls the diaphragm, for unknown reasons, lapses into uncontrollable spasms. 

Though hiccups are normally harmless, and even beneficial when swallowing “wrong” has caused the hiccups in order to dispel the offending object, if you have bouts of hiccups several times a day, or several days a week, if your hiccups persist for more than an hour, or if you also have chest pain, heartburn, or difficulty swallowing, they could be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as developing kidney failure, a growing abscess or tumor in or near the chest, diaphragm, or esophagus. 

If such illness is suspected, or hiccups are very annoying, a physician is likely to take barium x-rays to discover any serious health problem.

Natural Cures For Hiccups:

Distraction:

To cure hiccups, you have to stop the spasm in the diaphragm or esophagus.  This can usually be accomplished by distracting the person’s attention from the hiccups, or making him or her gasp.  

Trying too hard to make them stop, will tighten your diaphragm, and tensing up, trying to stop the hiccup, will only make it worse.  

Gagging:

Putting your finger down your throat to provoke a gag reflex, will often stop hiccups.

Lemon Or Vinegar:

Try sucking on a lemon or taking a spoon full of vinegar.  An overwhelming taste can disrupt the rhythm of your hiccups.

Water:

Drinking a glass full of water, in regular, evenly paced swallows can disrupt the hiccup’s rhythm, and stop them all Together.  

As the hiccup is about to occur, opening your mouth very wide, grasping your tongue, and giving it a gentle yank, holding onto it for several seconds, will often cure hiccups.  

Sugar:

Sprinkle the back of your tongue with sugar, and swallow.  The sugar is grainy, and often a little difficult to swallow.  It is thought that the forceful, continual swallowing motions will disrupt the rhythm of the hiccups.