I think almost everyone in the world can say they have had a case of the “hiccups”. What a terrible and helpless feeling it is to have a case of the “hiccups”. It makes you feel like you are continually at the hands of your respiratory system going into a spasm for no particular reason but to spite you. When you first get the “hiccups” you usually just take a breath like you often do and then all of the sudden there they are cutting into your regular breathing cycle and your attempts to spout out normal sentences. After a little while they might even make you laugh as you attempt to figure out a way to get rid of them from your body. But, if they end up lasting more than a minute or two this laughter usually turns into frustration, confusion, or anger. What are these little devils that we call “hiccups?” Why do they happen to us? And what are some ways we can attempt to stop them?
Hiccups actually are caused by your diaphragm. This is a respiratory muscle that separates your chest and your abdomen and it assists in the process of breathing. Hiccups occur as the diaphragm spasms, involuntarily, causing the rapid closing of the vocal cord and resulting in the strange sound we create when we have the hiccups. They can be triggered by inhaling and exhaling air in an erratic way. Causes of this include laughing a lot and eating too fast for some examples. They usually eventually go away on their own.
Over time there have been thousands of remedies and attempts at solving this problem for this age old mystery known as the hiccups. However, instead of listing all of the thousands of cures for the hiccups that are out there I have come up with a much shorter list of some of the more common cures for the hiccups.
The classic drinking water upside down is one of the most famous and well known “cures for the hiccups”. This involves bending over and drinking a glass of water upside down. Placing the glass on the ground and using a straw can help with this. Another famous cure is the idea of simply holding your breath. Many people think that if you take in a deep breath and hold it this will cure their hiccups and this does work for many people. You can also try blowing air out in a slow and steady stream as this helps to relax your diaphragm. Another option is to plug your ears while you drink water. Many people swear by this one and they say if you use your index finger to plug your ears and you have someone pour your drink into your mouth your hiccups will melt away. Some people also believe that breathing heavily into a brown paper bag is the way to go. You must breath hard at least 10 times into a brown paper bag after forming a good seal around your mouth.
Others also believe that gargling with or without salt is the best cure for your hiccups. One of the other top cures out there is simply to eat sugar. Some believe that it takes a teaspoon and other say to use a tablespoon, either way this has got to be one of the best ways to try and cure the hiccups. You might end up with a sleeping problem if you keep trying this one though, ha, ha. Here are some more ideas that have been thrown around for years: drink a big glass of water slowly and continuously, pull hard on your tongue, make yourself sneeze, suck on some ice or a lemon or a spoon of peanut butter, try a shot of pickle juice, get tickled (laughing will change your breathing pattern), force a burp or cough without inhaling air. There are many more possible cures out there for the hiccups these are just some of the best known ones out there so try this list of possible cures first and if you have no luck well then try anything. Maybe you will accidentally discover the sure fire way of ridding yourself and everyone of this age old annoyance.
Next time you get the hiccups and they last for a couple of minutes before taking care of themselves of before you use one of the above mentioned remedies to take care of them I want you to know that the worst case of the hiccups happened to a man for 69 years. He hiccupped ever 1.5 seconds for 69 years. So your little episode of the hiccups should not seem that bad or get to you.
