How To Get Rid of Hiccups | What Are Its Causes

Everyone faces one or many times in life. But do you know where these come from? How to stop these Hiccups? Hiccups or hiccoughs are sudden or spam movements of your diaphragm paired with a ‘hic’ sound that you can’t control. Diaphragm is a muscle under the rib cage separating your stomach area and chest. It helps us breathe with the intercostal muscles. During breathing it moves inward when you inhale and moves upward when you exhale. Sometimes a muscular spasm happens in Diaphragm and related muscles, it causes a quick inhalation into the lungs which causes a sharp closure of epiglottis tissue. This sharp closure creates a ‘hic’ sound.

Drinking carbonated or alcoholic beverages, Eating a large meal or suddenly getting excited may cause hiccups. Mostly hiccups stop by themselves after a few minutes but sometimes it remains for a long time, maybe days or weeks as a symptom of underlying disease. Weight loss and extreme tiredness will be the result of prolonged hiccups.

What can cause hiccups:

There are several reasons why hiccups might happen in adults. Low levels of carbon dioxide and irritated nerves can cause Hiccups.

Mild Hiccups

Hiccups which remain for a short time can happen when you:

• After eating too much
• Quickly Eat and drink.
• Take Drugs (especially anxiety related - Benzodiazepines)
• Inhalation of toxic fumes.
• Stress - fear or excitement
• Drink alcohol or carbonated beverages

How to Get Rid of Mild Hiccups

Although there is no remedy or physical activity which works for everyone, many people find these things helpful for treatment or to stop hiccups.

• Sip Cold-ice Water
• Bite on lemon or taste vinegar
• Breath into a paper bag
• Hold your breath for a short time
• Pull your knees to your chest and lean forward

Long lasting Hiccups

If Your Hiccups Don’t go for days they will be called ‘persistent’. If they last for a few months then they will be called ‘intractable’. It is Rare for long-lasting hiccups. They can be exhausting and stressful. Long lasting Hiccups can cause:

Depression: Long-lasting hiccups can create clinical depression.

Fatigue: If long-term hiccups persist they can be exhausting, even creating difficulty to eat and sleep.

Insomnia: It will be difficult to sleep if prolonged Hiccups persist during sleeping hours.

Communication Problem:  Hiccups will cause difficulty during speaking.

Weight Loss: Prolonged HIccups cause difficulty in eating resulting in weight loss and dehydration.

 Intractable hiccups can be due to some medical problem and might go only when that issue is resolved.

Some of these underlying problems are:

• Stroke
• Cancer and tumour
• Bowel Diseases
• Pleurisy of the diaphragm
• Uremia
• Liver cancer
• Hepatitis
• Oesophagus and stomach disorders
• Pneumonia
• Hiccups

How to get rid of prolonged hiccups

Long lasting Hiccups can be treated by some of these prescription drugs as medication:

• Baclofen
• Gabapentin
• Chlorpromazine

Hiccups in newborn

During or after Feeding hiccups may happen in infants due to quickly swallowing food or overfeeding. Therefore it is recommended to typically short food with burping breaks.

 

Sometimes infants have not synced breathing and swallowing. As a result, this can cause an to draw breathe and swallow which may produce hiccups.

Consuming cold drinks with something warm can cause a change in stomach temperature which produces hiccups.