You may think that hiccups are not
a serious problem to find out a cure or remedy. But hiccups are annoying or embarrassing when you are in a social gathering or attending a really important
meeting. This when you want to find out the ways to get rid of it instantly. Generally,
hiccups get resolve on their own within a short time. In some cases, hiccups may
become persistent, sometimes even lasting for more than 48 hours. These hiccups
may frighten the affected person and cause real uneasiness.
Let's find out what a hiccup
really is before we explore the home remedies for hiccups.
Hiccup
is a characteristic gulping sound generated due to an involuntary contraction
of the diaphragm and respiratory organs associated with a sudden closure of the
glottis.
These funny noises are coming
from your diaphragm. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of your
chest and all hiccups start here. The diaphragm almost always works perfectly
when you inhale it pulls down to help pull air into the lungs. When you exhale with
the relaxation of the diaphragm the air flows out of your lungs through the
nose and mouth. But sometimes it may happen the diaphragm becomes irritated. When this happens it pulls down in a jerky way
which makes you suck air into your throat. Suddenly when the air rushing in hits
your voice box your vocal cords closed suddenly and you're left with a big
hiccup.
Some things that irritate the diaphragm are eating too quickly or
too much an irritation in the stomach or the throat or feeling nervous or
excited. Generally, the hiccups last only a few minutes. In some cases the hiccups
may last for days or even months but this is very abnormal and usually a sign
of another medical problem
What Are The Causes That Trigger Hiccups?
Although there no definite causes of hiccups, we can identify a few
common triggers that are causing hiccups for less than 48 hours. Common factors that could possibly trigger
your hiccups are:
]
Eating too
much or eating too fast at a time
]
Drinking too
many carbonated beverages
]
Consumption
of spicy foods
]
Consuming
large amounts of alcohol
]
Sudden changes in stomach
temperature. Such as can happen when eating something hot and followed with an
icy drink
]
Swallowing too
much air at the time of sucking or chewing
]
Sudden emotional
excitement or stress which shortens your breath
Here are a few self-help techniques you might try on your own at
home the next time you get the hiccups:
1.
DRINKING ICE WATER
Drinking
water a simple but highly effective remedy at home for hiccups. The swallowing mechanism associated with drinking
slowly a glass of water relaxes the muscles of the diaphragm and helps to
relieve hiccups. Drink a sip
every five seconds, swallow, and do that for the next you know 20 seconds. Belt down three to four glasses of cool
water for a severe case of hiccups this should help to lengthen the gap between
each hiccup and eventually relieve you of the condition
2.
HOLD YOUR BREATH
Hold a very deep breath as long as you can. Try to hold your
breath for about 20 to 30 seconds. This
will cause blood carbon dioxide levels to rise. Our blood carbon dioxide
controls our respiratory system and in turn our diaphragm movement. However the deeper breath you take the
better it seems to work so it may not be just about rising carbon dioxide
levels. Taking a deep breath and holding it make your body feel relaxed. Long
holding your breath will definitely help you to get rid of hiccups.
3.
SCARE HICCUPS AWAY
This is a funny way of getting rid of hiccups. It is not possible
to do it yourself, so if you have a friend ask them to scare or startle you
tickle you. For your friend this maybe also a funny little trick to see if you
can get rid of hiccups by getting scared. Hiccup is controlled by the vagus
nerve, which connects the diaphragm. The hiccups stop after someone/something
scares you as the vagus nerve gets distracted and engage with a new task to fight
the danger.
4.
BITING DOWN ON A LEMON
For this tip what you need is just a lemon and squeeze some juice
into a tablespoon and just swallow. that
I've done this before and it has definitely worked it does kind of sound kind
of gross, because you're taking a whole tablespoon of lemon juice it's gonna be sour
but guarantee you that the lemon juice is gonna work I hope those tips help
5.
BREATHE INTO A PAPER BAG
Breathing into a paper bag for 10 seconds. Breathing into paper
bags calm down your central nervous system and relax you from emotional stress
or excitement. This will also raise
the carbon dioxide levels in your blood which can help stop the hiccups.
6.
SUGAR FOR HICCUPS
Swallowing a spoonful of sugar is the most common and oldest
remedy for hiccups. Taking a spoonful of
sugar and keep it under your tongue when
you are hiccupping. Keep the sugar in your mouth until it
dissolves then chew and swallow slowly. The sweet taste of the dissolved sugar in the mouth is believed to
stimulate the vagus nerve and make you forget about hiccups.
7.
DRINKING WATER UPSIDE DOWN TO
CURE HICCUPS
This is the faster trick to get rid of hiccups. What you need to do is to drink this glass
upside down. Drink not from the normal
drinking edge but from the opposite side
by tilting your head down. Put your mouth on the opposite side of the
drinking glass bend down and drink slowly upside down. Drinking at this posture makes the muscles to contract and stop
the hiccups right away. This technique is most effective and
works for everyone.
If your hiccup
persists for more than 48 hours after trying all the remedies above, you must
consult your doctor for any other complications. In some cases, the hiccups may last for days
or even months but this is very abnormal and usually a sign of another medical
problem. You may need to take the medication in order to stop
these persistent hiccups that are lasting more than 48 hours.
Comments