Hiccups affect almost everyone at some point in their lives. While hiccups usually diminish after a few minutes, they can be annoying and make eating and speaking difficult.
People have come up with a variety of ways to get rid of hiccups, including breathing into a paper bag and eating a spoonful of sugar. Which therapies, on the other hand, are genuinely effective?
There isn’t much research that compares the effectiveness of various hiccup treatments. Many of them, however, are based on centuries of anecdotal evidence. Furthermore, some of the most popular therapies stimulate the vagus and phrenic nerves, which are associated with the diaphragm.
Continue reading to discover how to stop hiccups with the most common and effective hiccups treatment at home.
What Actually Are Hiccups?
According to the US National Library of Medicine, when you get the dreaded hiccups, your diaphragm—the huge muscle that helps your lungs pump—spasms or contracts temporarily, followed by your vocal cords rapidly closing and creating the signature hiccup sounds.
Hiccups can be caused by anything from overeating to consuming carbonated beverages to swallowing air when chewing gum. Even though science understands what a hiccup is, scientific hiccup cures remain a mystery.
Although there aren’t many studies on the success of hiccup cures, many of them have years of personal proof. Nerves associated with your diaphragm may be stimulated by some of the popular home remedy for hiccups.
What Causes Hiccups?
It’s unclear why some people have hiccups. Hiccups can be caused by a variety of factors, including low blood carbon dioxide levels and irritated nerves.
The phrenic nerve (which connects the neck to the diaphragm) and the vagus nerve (which connects the brain to the stomach) are important to breathing.
Mild hiccups (those that disappear quickly) can occur if you:
- Too much food and drink are consumed too quickly.
- Consume carbonated beverages or alcoholic beverages.
- Overeat.
- Feel the effects of stress, including fear and joy.
- Raise your neck too far.
- Take medications (especially benzodiazepines)
- Drink anything very hot or very cold.
- Chemotherapy is something you should do.
- For a procedure, you will be numbed.
- Inhale the poisonous gases.
Home Remedies for Hiccups
Have you ever noticed how hiccups always seem to occur at the most inconvenient times? You suddenly find yourself racked with an uncontrollable spasm in your diaphragm that you can’t contain, whether you’re sitting in a quiet theatre or getting into the dentist’s chair.
These tried-and-true hiccups treatments at home will help you get rid of hiccups. There are only a few possible hiccup treatments, so if the first one doesn’t work, try the next one!
Use Your Hands
According to some therapies, increasing your body’s carbon dioxide levels enables your brain to focus on the problem and stop transmitting hiccup cramps. Take normal breaths while cupping your hands over your mouth and nose until your hiccups stop.
Another method involves pressing forcefully into the palm of one hand with the thumb of the other. Your nervous system will be distracted by the discomfort.
Inhale & Exhale
This is one of the most basic home remedies for hiccups. Doctors may also recommend a technique known as supra-supramaximal inspiration. Take a deep breath in and out. Hold it for a total of ten seconds.
Inhale another intake of air and hold it for 5 seconds while keeping your breath still held. Take another sip and hold for another 5 seconds. Then take a deep breath and exhale.
This method relieves hiccups by relaxing the diaphragm, boosting carbon dioxide levels, and creating positive airway pressure.
Stick Your Fingers In Your Ears
This home remedy for hiccups is hilarious and entertaining. When you’re hiccupping, put your fingers in your ears for 30 seconds. You can also press your fingers into the soft area at the base of your skull immediately behind your earlobes.
Touching your ears in this manner relaxes your vagus nerve, which in turn reduces your diaphragm spasm and, ideally, eliminates your hiccups.
Stick Out Your Tongue
When no one is looking, stick your tongue out. Singers and performers perform this practice to promote the opening between their vocal cords (the glottis). As you breathe more properly, the spasms that cause hiccups are minimized.
Enjoy A Little Honey
Place one spoonful of honey on the back of your tongue, mixed in warm water, and swallow. Honey, like dill, may tickle the vagus nerve, causing the hiccups to stop. Honey is also a well-known infection fighter and cough reliever, and it’s helpful for treating ulcers.
Drink Some Water In Weird Way
Drinking water in an awkward body position is one of the best home remedies for hiccups. It may sound stupid, but it confuses your neural system enough to prevent hiccups by preventing diaphragm spasms. What are the best positions to try? Drink from the sink faucet or with your head turned upside down from the opposite side of a glass.
Pick up a paper cupful of water with your pinky fingers while simultaneously placing your index fingers in your ears if you’re feeling generous.
Also Read: How To Remove Dark Circles Naturally At Home
Swallow Something Sweet
A tablespoon of sugar is a common hiccups remedy because its graininess may irritate the esophagus, causing the phrenic nerves to “reset.”
Have Some Peanut Butter
If you’re looking for a natural way to get rid of hiccups, a big spoonful of peanut butter is a tried and true treatment. While chewing and getting it off your tongue and teeth, your swallowing and breathing processes are disturbed. As a result, the hiccups will become obsolete.
Sip Pickle Juice
Here’s another one for the “it’s so insane, it could work” category. A tiny amount of dill pickle juice should be consumed. It’s got to be dill pickles, not sweet pickles. Hiccup treatments frequently call for sour flavors, and you might try taking a sip of vinegar instead.
The sour taste in your mouth alters the signal to your vagus nerve, hopefully interrupting your hiccup pattern for long enough for it to stop.
Hit The Hot Sauce
Curing a bad case of hiccups often necessitates a bold approach. This is one of the home remedies for hiccups that will quickly reactivate your nervous system. Using a teaspoon, pour a few drops of your favorite spicy sauce into your lips.
Your tongue, nose, and eyes will immediately become red and irritated. This discomfort draws your body’s attention away from hiccupping and toward what’s going on in your thoughts.
Chew Up Some Dill
Here’s a quick and tasty cure for getting rid of the hiccups: Slowly chew a teaspoon of dill seeds. This old remedy may work because swallowing the seeds stimulates the vagus nerve, which stops the hiccups.
Breathe Into A Paper Bag
Breathe slowly and deeply into a little paper bag the next time you get the hiccups. (If you feel dizzy, come to a complete halt.)
This may cause the diaphragm to contract more forcefully in order to take in more oxygen, rising carbon dioxide levels in the blood. Experts believe that, even though this therapy has not been scientifically verified, it may bring relief.
To Get Rid Of Hiccups, Suck On A Lemon
Another classic hiccup treatment is biting or sucking on a lemon wedge. If you have non-alcoholic bitters on hand, soak the lemon wedge first. This medication treated 14 out of 16 persons with hiccups, according to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Also Read: Home Remedies For Burping – How To Stop It And It’s Quick Prevention
When To See A Doctor
The hiccups usually diminish after a few minutes or hours. Consult your doctor if you have hiccups on a regular basis or if they continue longer than two days. Your hiccups could indicate an underlying problem, such as:
- Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis
Furthermore, some hitches are more chronic than others. If this occurs, your doctor may prescribe medicine to assist them in stopping. Chronic hiccups are commonly treated using the following medications:
- Baclofen (Gablofen)
- Chlorpromazine (Thorazine)
- Metoclopramide (Reglan)
Final Words
If your hiccups last more than two days or if they prohibit you from eating, breathing, or sleeping, you should see a doctor. They may be able to prescribe medicine or do study to confirm why your hiccups aren’t going away.
If you have a stomach ache, chest pain, fever, shortness of breath, or vomiting, as well as hiccups, see your doctor right once. If you cough up blood, see your doctor right away to stop hiccups.
Faq’s
To stop hiccups, slowly sip very cold water. Drink a glass of warm water slowly and without breathing all the way down.
Place a tiny slice of lemon on your tongue and suck it as if it were sweet. Burping — some people find that consuming a fizzy drink and burping relieves their hiccups. Also, here are some other options:
– Inhale deeply into a paper bag (do not put it over your head)
– Lean forward and pull your legs up to your chest.
– Swallow some sugar grains.
– Take a few drops of vinegar or a bite of lemon.
– Hold your breath for a few seconds.
They usually only last a few minutes a day and then fade away on their own. Here are some of the best and most effective home remedies for hiccups in case you’re looking for a quick fix for those sudden bouts of hiccups. Here are some of the most common home remedies for hiccups:
– Hold your breath.
– Breathe into a paper bag.
– Hug your knees.
– Pull-on your tongue.
– Press on your diaphragm.
– Squeeze your palm.
– Suck on an ice cube.
– Gargle ice water.
– The back of your neck should be tapped or rubbed.
– Squeeze your nostrils shut while you swallow water.
– Slowly sip a glass of warm water, pausing only to catch your breath.
These suggestions are for hiccups that last only a few minutes. Consult your doctor if you have chronic hiccups that continue longer than 48 hours.
To stop hiccups, here is some simple hiccups treatment at home:
– Take a deep breath in and hold it for about 10 seconds, then gently exhale. Rep three or four times more if necessary.
– Breathe into a paper bag, making sure the bag does not cover your head.
– Bring your knees up to your chest and hug them for a couple of seconds.
– Leaning forward will allow you to gently squeeze your chest.
Hiccups usually go away on their own without major surgery. If your hiccups are caused by an underlying medical issue, treating that condition may help you stop having them.
