Hiccups & 5 Steps To Get Rid Of Hiccups

Have you ever wondered why you get hiccups? Why won't it stop even after you hiccupped for like 100th time? You might have searched many times on Google about how to get rid of hiccups and how to stop hiccups but ended up having your 101st hiccup! The question of why we get hiccups has been asked for centuries and is still baffling to many people around the world. These hiccups can be annoying which might make you wonder if they will ever stop. This leads to people trying all sorts of weird and creative ideas to get rid of them.

What are Hiccups & Why do we get Hiccups?

Before moving to explore the ways how to get rid of hiccups, let's just first start knowing what are hiccups and why do we really get hiccups in the first place?

What are hiccups?

Hiccups are the result of discomfort in your diaphragm, a diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle located at the bottom of your chest which helps you in inhaling and exhaling air in your body. But when the diaphragm is irritated because of any unusual reason it jerks your whole body downward causing you to draw air into your throat and this sudden rush of air in your vocal cords causes a hiccup sound which can be short, and sharp making us gasp.

Why do we get hiccups?

Now, you've understood what are hiccups, now let us see what causes them and answer the question of why we get hiccups below:

• There are various reasons for your experiencing hiccups because your diaphragm can get irritated even if you laugh too hard or ate and drank too much too quickly.
• Many prescription medicines sometimes cause hiccups too. People suffering from gas get hiccups often due to the increased acidity in the stomach.

How to get rid of Hiccups - 5 DYI Tips

Unfortunately, the problem with hiccups is that there isn't any one way to stop or cure hiccups. For different sorts of irritation in the diaphragm, we may have different sets of solutions. Nonetheless, here are 5 common ways how to get rid of hiccups.

1. Hold your breath

The most popular way to stop hiccups is breathing in and holding the breath for 10-20 seconds and breathing out slowly while repeating the same process over and over again. You can also use a paper bag to breathe into it.

2. Bring your knees to your chest

One of the ways how to stop hiccups is by lying on the floor straight and bringing your knees to your chest and touching them for 2-3 minutes.

3. Inhale and exhale

Put your both index fingers in your ears and inhale and exhale. While exhaling you need to remember that you push as much air out as possible. This is one of the ways to stop hiccups.

4. Gargle or drink cold water

Sometimes the best answer to the question of how to stop hiccups is to gargle with cold water or drink a glass of cold water which can instantly stop the irritation in the diaphragm.

5. Follow home remedies from your kitchen shelf

There are numerous ways to tackle the problem of how to get rid of hiccups using things from your kitchen counters:

• Putting a couple of drops of vinegar in your mouth can help stop hiccups.
• If you have some granulated sugar at your home it might rescue you from annoying hiccups which you just have to swallow when it melts.
• Stopping hiccups can be fun activity what you have to do is take a lemon slice it up and place it on your tongue and suck on it.
• Another home remedy is sodas. Yes, sodas many doctors quite often suggest having soda during hiccups because it makes you burp which can make your hiccups go away.
• Eating sweets during hiccups can stop the irritation and hiccups instantly.

Learn about: Home Remedies For Stomach Infections here.

What is the medication needed in case of severe hiccups

Here are some medications and signs and symptoms in case of some serious hiccups which don't stop and can be severe:

These medications are only prescribed when a patient is:

• Not eating properly and has started losing weight.
• If he/she has insomnia or a sudden change in sleeping pattern.
• If he/she is mentally exhausted or shows signs of clinical depression.

Many doctors recommend taking these medications after only consulting a physician:

• Gabapentin: This is used for the treatment of epilepsy or neuropathic pain and hiccups.
• Baclofen: this is a type of muscle relaxant which helps the diaphragm to relax when irritated.
• Haloperidol: this is used as an antipsychotic medication.
• Chlorpromazine: it is also an antipsychotic drug.
• Metoclopramide: many people start people feeling nausea during hiccups and this drug can help.

Also, read about: How to Control Uric Acid.

How can you prevent hiccups?

Irritation of your diaphragm causes you to get hiccups avoiding these irritations can reduce the risk of hiccups occurring. We have seen ways how to stop hiccups or ways how to get rid of hiccups, now let us see ways how we can prevent hiccups in the first place.

4 Ways to Prevent Hiccups

1. Many people while having lunch or dinner have the habit of eating or drinking too quickly. Eating too much and too quickly can be the main reason for having hiccups in the first place.
2. The other way of avoiding irritating your diaphragm is refraining from consuming alcohol.
3. Sometimes eating too many spicy foods can cause hiccups. Eating spicy causes inflammation in your diaphragm.
4. Avoid smoking cigarettes.

Get going and "Bid Bye" now to excessive troublesome hiccups now!