What Causes Hiccups & How To Get Rid of Them

 What Causes Hiccups & How To Get Rid of Them

Introduction

Hiccups is one of those aggravating little imperfections that as people we cannot hack it. They hit you out of nowhere halfway through a conversation or while eating. They are funny in the beginning, but then they get annoying as time goes on. So what is causing those annoying hiccups and best of all — how do you get rid of them? But first, some science behind hiccups to better understand why they occur and workable methods for preventing them.

What Causes Hiccups?

Hiccups are described as a spasm of the diaphragm — the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen and plays an important role in breathing. This is then followed by a rapid closure of your vocal cords, which causes the distinct “hic” sound.

Spasms can be set off by a variety of factors:

1. Eating fast: when you eat or drink too quickly, then you may swallow the air which can cause irritation to diaphragm.

2. Eating a large meal: When your stomach becomes full from eating food, it can put pressure on the diaphragm which causes to hiccups.

3. The sudden change of the temperatures inside your stomach; Drinking hot after cold or vice versa has been shown to cause hiccups.

4. Diet soda: The bubbles in diet sodas could stretch your tummy and anguish the diaphragm.

5. Instant feelings: whether pleasure or fatigue can harm the nerves that oversee to diaphragm inducing hiccups.

6. Some medical conditions: Occasionally, long-term hiccups may be symptomatic of an underlying health issue like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), pneumonia or even a reaction to some types of medication.

How to Get Rid of Hiccups?

Although most hiccups simply disappear on their own within a few minutes, there are many home remedies available that people swear by to hasten the end of them. Some of the favorite ways are these.

1. Los Angeles Lung Tonic: Inhale deeply and retain as long as possible. So, it leads to increase in CO2 levels within the blood that might assist preclude spasm.

2. Consume One Glass of Cold Water: Sipping cold water gradually can boost the vagus nerve, which extends in one piece from head to gut as well as is able to reset the diaphragm.

3. Down a Teaspoon of Sugar: The sugar granules could produce an effect on the vagus nerve, which would halt your hiccuping.

4. Breathe In and Out of a Paper Bag: This is similar to holding your breath. Holding your breath while breathing through a paper bag can build up carbon dioxide in the blood, which may interrupt sudden hiccups.

5. Ice Water Gargle: Soothe the diaphragm by talking to yourself aloud or gargling.

6. Yank on Your Tongue: Pulling slightly at your tongue can give the nerves and muscles in your throat a workout, halting hiccups.

7. Try the "Scare" Technique: While this may seem a little silly, sometimes getting spooked can help break up the diaphragm spasms that are causing your hiccups.

When to See a Doctor

In the vast majority of cases, hiccups are harmless and short-lived but hiccuping longer than 48 hours could mean there is an underlying reason for it that needs urgent medical attention. If you have persistent hiccups or your hiccups are associated with other symptoms, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing and severe abdominal pain seek medical advice.

Conclusion

Hiccups can be annoying, but they are pretty harmless. They are usually easily fixable once you know the common causes and can try a few simple remedies. Nevertheless, if they occur more often or do so with other significant signs and symptoms then it is always better to see a healthcare provider as this could be the cause of something else. I hope You find this article helpful with the reat turn abouts and how to handle them.