How To Cure Hiccups

So, today, we're going to talk about how to get rid of hiccups, which is an extremely common problem for lots of us. And hiccups are caused by the contraction of the diaphragm, which is the large sheet of muscle which sits below the lungs. And when it contracts, the little flapper at the top of our windpipe glatus shuts closed.

And that's where we get the huh sound from. And it's thought to go back millions of years actually, to our ancestors who first came out of the sea and had little gills that shut closed and it's thought to be a permanent reflex that we've carried on all of those years. So it's likely that human beings have been hiccupping for far longer than we could possibly imagine.

So, what can we do to stop hiccups and kill them in their tracks? Well, first of all, it's important to remember most hiccups are self limiting and actually they run their course for a few minutes until they stop by themselves. But some of the strategies that we use actually look at the science behind the hiccups and it's thought that they reduce the level of carbon dioxide in our blood. And carbon dioxide is something that can reduce irritation of the frenetic nerve.

And the frenetic nerve is the main nerve that innervates or parse the diaphragm, that sheet of muscle beneath our lungs. So, some of the strategies that we use look at things which increase the carbon dioxide in our blood and reduce the effect on the frenetic nerve. The most common of those are things like standing on our heads, or holding our breath, or drinking through a cup upside down.

And all of these can help to increase carbon dioxide levels. But a few have actually been studied under scientific circumstances and looked at more rigorously. And I'm going to talk about some of those now.

The first of them is to take a very deep breath and then to take a super maximal breath on top of that. Hold that for about 5 seconds or so and then take a super, super maximal breath on top of that again. Hold that for about 5 seconds and then breathe normally.

And that has been found to try, and that has been found to terminate the hiccups completely. It's thought that that works by increasing a positive pressure in our airways and also by ceasing diaphragmatic innovation, and increasing our CO2 levels. Another strategy, which does some of the same effects, is to close over the flaps on your ears and then to drink a glass of water through a straw, very, very quickly.

And what that does is, again, increase pressure in our airways and our lungs. It can help to cease hiccups completely. You can try a few of your own strategies at home but those are the only ones that have actually been scientifically tested.

If your hiccups persist and last for more than a few days, it's important that your doctor checks them out and thinks of other causes and other reasons why you may be hiccupping such a long time. They can also think of other treatment strategies which may help for you. So that's some of the ways we can get rid of hiccups.

A case of hiccups is awful. This video explains the science behind hiccups and uses scientific studies to provide solutions. Learn how to cure hiccups.