Hiccups, those sudden and sometimes annoying contractions of the diaphragm, can be a perplexing phenomenon. During a hiccup your diaphragm contracts and, immediately after this, the top of your windpipe (your glottis) closes, making the typical ‘hic’ sound.
Hiccups can be annoying and inconvenient, but will usually pass on their own after a short time. People sometimes like to try things in the hope of speeding things up though. While there is no foolproof cure, several techniques have been suggested (although none of them have much of an evidence base)…
1. Breathing techniques
Holding your breath for a short time apparently increases the level of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream, which may help reset your breathing pattern and stop the hiccups.
Other breath-holding techniques, such as breathing into a paper bag or performing a modified Valsalva manoeuvre have also been suggested (the way to do this is by taking a deep breath in, then blocking your mouth and noise while pushing with your muscles as if to force the air out, as if you’re straining on the toilet).
These methods are based on the principle of altering the respiratory pattern and may help interrupt the hiccup reflex, but are not guaranteed to work.
2. Drinking water or swallowing granulated sugar
Both of these remedies aim to interrupt the hiccup cycle by stimulating the vagus nerve, which plays a role in regulating the diaphragm contractions. While some people say these techniques do work, scientific evidence is, once again, limited.
3. Eating something sweet or sour
Similar to drinking water or swallowing sugar, consuming something sweet or sour is believed to stimulate the vagus nerve and potentially halt hiccups. Again, the evidence supporting either the sweet or sour approach is anecdotal.
4. Distraction and relaxation
Engaging in activities that divert your attention from your hiccuping or induce relaxation (such as counting backwards, focusing on your breathing or gently massaging the area around your diaphragm), may help interrupt the hiccup cycle. While these methods may not have a direct physiological effect, they can help shift your focus away from the hiccups.
It’s important to note that the remedies mentioned above have varying degrees of scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness. Most studies are based on anecdotal reports or small sample sizes, and there is a lack of robust research on hiccup cures.
Most of the time, ordinary bursts of hiccups will simply pass by themselves. The trick is in being prepared to wait for that to happen. That being said, most of the remedies suggested above are fairly harmless to try.
If you have found a particular technique that consistently works for you, it may be due, at least in part, to the placebo effect. We tend to find the things we believe in are more likely to work!
Read more:
- Do animals get hiccups?
- What happens in my body when I sneeze?
- Newborn baby hiccups linked to brain growth
- Why do sneezes come in twos or threes?
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