What causes hiccups?
“Hiccups are a spasm of the diaphragm and muscles that surround it,” says Donald B. Ford, MD, MBA, staff physician at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, and professor of family medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. “That spasm causes an involuntary intake of air—a hiccup—and closure of your vocal cords. That closure is why you make a noise when you hiccup.” The exact mechanism for a hiccup, according to Harvard Medical School data: the contraction of your diaphragm and muscles makes you breathe in fast, then your vocal cords snap shut (which is called “glottic closure”). Essentially, the process of hiccuping is very similar to what happens when you catch your breath while having a good cry. Most of the time, hiccups just happen spontaneously, with no rhyme or reason as to why. You will usually hiccup 30 times before they suddenly stop. But there are a few circumstances that might make you more susceptible to getting hiccups:
• A stretched out tummy, because you’ve eaten too big a meal or drunk too much alcohol
• A stomach full of air
• Cigarette smoking
• Strong emotion—being really pumped up about something, or having a major stress event
How to get rid of hiccups
Hiccups will normally cease when the highest part of your throat (called the nasopharynx) gets stimulated. Any of the following things can do the trick: • Pulling on your tongue • Swallowing some granulated sugar (try a teaspoon) • Gargling with water for a few minutes • Drinking a glass of ice water. “Very cold water can sometimes ‘shock’ the spasm into stopping,” says Dr. Ford. • Drinking that ice water from the far side of your glass (that positioning can be helpful) • Biting on a slice of lemon • Poking the back of your throat gently with a long cotton swab You may also be able to stop your hiccups by stimulating the part of your skin over your spinal nerves, specifically the ones near your neck. You can do this by: • Tapping on the back of your neck • Rubbing the back of your neck Interrupting your breath pattern may also be the solution. You can do this by: • Holding your breath briefly • Breathing into a paper bag • Pulling your knees up to your chest, then leaning forward for a few minutes • Gasping. Try it a few times. A few more out of the box hiccup hacks: • Go for a run. “Running will change the rhythm of your breathing, which will reverse the hiccup process,” says Dr. Ford. • Let someone scare you. It goes back to the gasp trick—your grandma was right when she told you this old wives’ tale! • Laugh at something hilarious. Again, the mechanism of laughter can be the perfect reversal mechanism for hiccups.
Can hiccups be serious?
When are hiccups potentially something to worry about? (We all remember that one episode of Grey’s Anatomy.) When should you check in with your doctor about them? If hiccups go on for more than 48 hours, the rule of thumb would be to let your doctor know," advises Dr. Ford. “Most of the time, hiccups are benign, but they can sometimes indicate a health problem. Cancer could cause hiccups, as could chemo drugs.” Other conditions that could make hiccups happen include laryngitis, goiters (or an enlarged thyroid gland), kidney failure, ear infections, neck tumors, an infection close to your diaphragm, hiatal hernia, aortic aneurysms or multiple sclerosis. Again, though: These causes are not the norm. What happens if your hiccups just won’t quit? “We can give you drugs to stop hiccups if you need them,” says Dr. Ford. Your doctor will examine you in a situation like this just to make sure you don’t any additional treatment. The bottom line: you can take control of those hiccups, feel better, and stop any bad health habits that may be causing them. Learn more about how to quit smoking.
Sources
Donald B. Ford, MD, MBA, staff physician at Cleveland Clinic, professor of family medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
