It's not just holding your breath: the best remedies for hiccups

Lisa Graves's name may not tell you anything, but if you had been sitting next to her at the dentist's office, or sharing the bus for a long ride, you might have entertained yourself by counting the times she had hiccups: at least a hundred a day. The thing could have remained an anecdote because many women suffer from hiccups during pregnancy, but when Lisa's little boy was old enough to make his First Communion, she was still having hiccups. However, she never broke the record, she was surpassed by an American, Charles Osborne, who suffered diaphragmatic contractions for 68 years. Although it is true that this type of persistent hiccups only affects one person in 100,000 and that for ordinary mortals it lasts only for a while, since our grandmothers were children a thousand and one remedies have been invented to put an end to it, as as an article in 'The Daily Mail' highlights.

But when and how does it happen? Why do some people recommend that you raise one arm, the right one to be more exact, or hold your breath and we believe that it works? According to Dr. Anton Emmanuel, a member of the British Gastroenterology Association: "Hiccups are caused by irritation of the diaphragm, which can be caused by something in our chest or stomach, or indirectly triggered by our nervous state." In fact, especially strong foods and drinks, such as alcohol, curry or heavy and fatty stews can stimulate this type of spasm, as can a sudden change in temperature, drinking a very cold drink after eating something very hot, and even a stress attack.

The inventions to stop hiccups are varied: while some advocate distracting the brain or relaxing the nervous state, others focus on the diaphragm

Curiously, doctors do not understand very well what its function is, or if the remedies that have emerged from time immemorial to alleviate it are really that or mere placebos. One of the main theories about its origin indicates that it could be a remnant from when our ancestors lived in the water, since tadpoles, for example, breathe with hiccups. Less imaginative is the version that hiccups are a harmful product of animal evolution derived precisely from our irritated diaphragms.

The inventions to put an end to this kind of possession of small hiccups are as varied as the resulting theories; while some advocate distracting the brain or relaxing the nervous state, others go directly to the center of irritation, the diaphragm itself.

The best ways to combat hiccups

1. Pull hard on the tongue

According to its proponents, it stimulates the vagus nerve – one of the twelve cranial nerves, which carries signals from the brain to the stomach. In this way, with just a pull of the tongue, the body digests food more quickly and eases pressure on the stomach and diaphragm, eliminating the cause of hiccups.

2. Drink a glass of water

It is the most famous remedy and has its variants, such as covering the nostrils while drinking or bending over and drinking the water upside down. However, the doctor indicates that "it is partially a distraction" and adds that the water can cause the stomach to contract a little and eliminate the excess air, but the result is quite insignificant.

3. Put ice packs on your throat

This cure supposedly directly affects the vagus nerve, although little is known about it. If we are interested in trying it, we can also use a bag of frozen peas or cubes.

4. Hold your breath

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— Naybor Fri Jul 23 14:25:25 +0000 2021

Another of the most popular and ancient solutions, to which even Plato made reference in his works. "Holding your breath forces the diaphragm to flatten and lengthen, which helps relax it and stop spasms," says the doctor. Other people, on the other hand, choose to take four or five deep breaths or exhale air in six seconds.

5. Get scared

Don't be fooled, this trick only works in cartoons, but rarely in life. The theory behind this remedy is that it forces the brain to do a reflex movement and the adrenaline generated can reverse hiccups, but there is no evidence that this is the case. However, another trick that seems silly but could work, according to the gastroenterologist, is a slap on the wrist, since it stimulates the aforementioned vagus nerve and loosens the pressure on the diaphragm.

A cure invented by an American barman to alleviate alcohol-induced hiccups consists of chewing a slice of lemon dipped in Angostura

6. Breathe into a paper bag

It is an image that we often associate with movie anxiety attacks because it supposedly calms the nerves. Thus, breathing about ten times into a bag can increase the level of carbon dioxide in our blood and help relax the diaphragm.

7. Putting honey under the tongue

Again another trick to stimulate the vagus nerve and trick our brain about the sensation of an empty stomach, which, in turn, relieves pressure on the diaphragm.

8. Chew a slice of lemon

A fairly modern remedy invented by an American barman to relieve hiccups induced by alcohol and which consists of chewing a slice of lemon dipped in Angostura bitters –concentrated lime juice–. Others say that sucking on a lemon or drinking vinegar works too.

9. Take Tabasco sauce

Although spicy food causes hiccups, this sauce could be a cure thanks, according to its defenders, to the abrasive sensation it causes in the mouth and throat, and that distracts the brain.

10. Eat dill

Chewing dill is a traditional cure that claims to activate the vagus nerve, but, as Dr. Emmanuel points out, there is no proof that it is effective.