How do we get the hiccups

Why You Get Hiccups ..and How To Make Them Stop

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Hiccups start much lower in your body, though -- in the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle between your lungs and stomach. Normally, the diaphragm pulls down when you inhale to let air into your lungs, and then relaxes when you exhale so air can flow back out of your lungs to exit your nose and mouth.

But if something irritates your diaphragm, it can spasm, forcing you to suddenly suck air into your throat, where it hits your voice box. That makes your vocal cords suddenly close, creating the distinct “hic!” sound.

Why Do Hiccups Happen?

Hiccups can happen for a lot of reasons -- some of them are physical, and some emotional. That’s because the actual irritation happens in the nerve connecting the brain to the diaphragm. Some common causes include:

Eating too much or too quickly
Feeling nervous or excited
Drinking carbonated beverages or too much alcohol
Stress
A sudden change in temperature
Swallowing air while sucking on candy or chewing gum

Long-term Hiccups

Hiccups are usually temporary, but in rare cases, they can stick around -- for a while. It’s usually because of damage or aggravation to the nerves connected to the diaphragm. Everything from a hair touching your eardrum to a sore throat can affect these nerves, and in more serious cases, a tumor, goiter, or cyst in the neck can damage them.

Hiccups that last a while can also be because of central nervous system disorders like encephalitis or meningitis, or metabolic disorders like diabetes or kidney failure. Drugs like steroids or some tranquilizers can trigger long-term hiccups, too.

And even certain procedures, especially ones that require anesthesia, can give you hiccups. If you’ve been hiccupping for more than 2 days, or if they are severe enough to interfere with eating, breathing, sleeping or are causing you distress, you should make an appointment with your doctor.

Also, talk to your doctor immediately if you have any kind of stomach pain, fever, shortness of breath, vomiting, or cough up blood with your hiccups.

How to Make Them Stop

If you’re hoping that hanging upside down or having a friend scare you will get your hiccups to stop, we hate to disappoint you. But there’s no scientific proof that these remedies work.

However, some experts think holding your breath or breathing into a paper bag might do the trick; both techniques make carbon dioxide build up in your lungs, which might relax the diaphragm.

If all else fails, and your hiccups continue for several days or more, your doctor may try different medications to see if they can put an end to those uncomfortable hiccups. Good luck!

Why Do We Hiccup? Reasons and How to Stop Hiccups

Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.D., MSN — By Jaime Herndon, MS, MPH, MFA — Updated on May 30, 2018

Hiccups can be annoying but they’re usually short-lived. However, some people may experience recurrent episodes of persistent hiccups. Persistent hiccups, also known as chronic hiccups, are defined as episodes that last longer than 48 hours.

At its most basic, a hiccup is a reflex. It happens when a sudden contraction of your diaphragm causes the muscles of your chest and abdomen to shake. Then, the glottis, or the part of your throat where your vocal cords are located, closes. This creates the noise of air expelled from your lungs, or the “hic” sound that feels involuntary with hiccups.

You can hiccup as a result of:

an overindulgent meal
a sudden change in temperature
excitement or stress
drinking carbonated drinks or alcohol
chewing gum

Persistent or recurrent hiccups typically have an underlying condition. This may include:

Central nervous system disorders

stroke
meningitis
tumor
head trauma
multiple sclerosis

Vagus and phrenic nerve irritation

goiter
laryngitis
eardrum irritation
gastrointestinal reflux

Gastrointestinal disorders

gastritis
peptic ulcer disease
pancreatitis
gallbladder issues
inflammatory bowel disease

Thoracic disorders

bronchitis
asthma
emphysema
pneumonia
pulmonary embolism

Cardiovascular disorders

heart attack
pericarditis

Other conditions that may be a factor in some cases of chronic hiccups include:

alcohol use disorder
diabetes
electrolyte imbalance
kidney disease

Medications that can trigger long-term hiccups include:

steroids
tranquilizers
barbiturates
anesthesia

If your hiccups don’t go away within a few minutes, here are some home remedies that might be helpful:

Gargle with ice water for one minute. The cold water will help soothe any irritation in your diaphragm.
Suck on a small piece of ice.
Breathe slowly into a paper bag. This increases the carbon dioxide in your lungs, which causes your diaphragm to relax.
Hold your breath. This also helps to increase carbon dioxide levels.

Since there’s no definitive way to stop hiccups, there’s no guarantee these remedies will work, but they can be effective for some people.

If you find yourself getting hiccups often, eating smaller meals and minimizing carbonated beverages and gassy foods might be helpful.

If they continue, talk with your healthcare provider. Make sure to mention when your hiccups seem to occur and how long they last. Alternative or complementary treatments such as relaxation training, hypnosis, or acupuncture might be options to explore.

While hiccups can be uncomfortable and irritating, they typically aren’t anything to worry about. In some cases, however, if they’re recurrent or persistent, there might be an underlying condition that needs medical attention.

If your hiccups don’t go away within 48 hours, are severe enough that they interfere with daily activities, or seem to be recurring more frequently, talk with your doctor.

Last medically reviewed on May 29, 2018

How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017). Hiccups.
mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiccups/symptoms-causes/syc-20352613
Quiroga JB, et al. (2016). Hiccups: A common problem with some unusual causes and cures. DOI:
10.3399/bjgp16X687913
Woelk CJ. (2011). Managing hiccups.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114667

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

May 30, 2018

Written By

Jaime R. Herndon, MS, MPH, MFA

May 29, 2018

Medically Reviewed By

Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.D., MSN

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Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.D., MSN — By Jaime Herndon, MS, MPH, MFA — Updated on May 30, 2018

5 ways to stop hiccuping

April 27, 2022

Hiccups - our innate reflex, which can sometimes take you by surprise in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

Most often, it is enough to be distracted, and the problem will go away by itself, but what if there is no way to wait? We share the easiest ways to deal with hiccups.

A person begins to hiccup due to convulsive contraction of the intercostal muscles and the diaphragm, an organ involved in the breathing process. At this moment, a spontaneous sharp breath occurs, but the airways are blocked by the epiglottis, and we hear “hic”.

But why does spasm occur? It's all about the vagus nerve - the most important "information channel" of our body. It passes from the brain to the internal organs through the esophagus and a narrow opening in the diaphragm, regulating the processes of digestion, blood circulation, respiration and other systems.

Hiccups appear due to irritation or compression of the vagus nerve. This can happen due to air entering the stomach, swallowing too large pieces of food, or, for example, due to an uncomfortable posture. Damage to the vagus nerve is fraught with serious consequences for the entire body, therefore, in order to protect itself, it causes rhythmic contractions of the diaphragm.

There are a lot of irritants that can “disturb” the vagus nerve, these include:

carbonated drinks,
hot or cold food,
eating in a hurry,
full stomach,
swallowing air when laughing,
stress, fear,
alcohol.

In addition, hiccups can be the result of a pathological process in the body: inflammation, metabolic disorders, tumors, etc. Such hiccups may not go away for several hours, days or even months. In this case, you should definitely consult a doctor.

How to stop hiccuping?

Physiological hiccups are not harmful to health, they usually last no more than half an hour and pass on their own, but sometimes an attack occurs at the most inopportune moment: before an important meeting or on a date. What to do?

To stop hiccuping, it is necessary to remove the spasm of the diaphragm, this can be done in two ways:

Increase the level of carbon dioxide in the blood. This method directly affects the work of the respiratory center in the human brain: in order for more oxygen to enter, the diaphragm will shrink deeper, which will relieve spasm.
Stimulate the vagus nerve. In order for the hiccups to stop, you just need to “switch the attention” of the nerve to some kind of irritant.

5 easiest ways to stop hiccuping:

Hold your breath. This method is convenient in that it can be applied anywhere and at any time. It usually helps with hiccups caused by stress. Just hold your breath for 10-20 seconds, exhale slowly and repeat this exercise several times.
Show tongue. Find a quiet place to try this method. It is necessary to stick out the tongue as much as possible and stay in this position for a while. You can also try to put pressure on the root of the tongue - for the vagus nerve, the gag reflex is "more important" than hiccups, so this method is very effective.
Drink water. Ideally, you should drink water through a straw, but if it is not at hand, then you can drink a glass of water in small sips. The water must be cold. Frequent contractions of the esophagus will "distract" the vagus nerve.
Irritate your taste buds. For these purposes, a slice of lemon, a pinch of salt or sugar is suitable. Hold the "irritant" in your mouth for a while.
Plug your ears. Pinch your ears with your fingers for 20-30 seconds or apply pressure to the soft area behind the earlobes. For the best effect, you can simultaneously drink water in small sips through a straw.

In most cases, hiccups do not require a visit to the doctor, but if it bothers you too often or does not go away for a long time, do not ignore this symptom.

What processes in the body are indicated by hiccups, yawning and stretching?

What processes in the body signal hiccups, yawning and stretching?

: Vitebsk News; Health; November 12, 2015; Views: 29199

Yawning

The reason for this is hypoxia, when the brain lacks oxygen. That is why we need not a simple, but a forced breath (strong and deep), during a yawn we inhale much more air than with a normal breath. The airways open up and a significant amount of oxygen quickly enters the bloodstream. Why do we yawn when we want to sleep or are tired? From fatigue, an excess of carbon dioxide accumulates in the tissues, the same hypoxia. We also yawn when we're bored and need to do something we don't feel like doing. So, we work “through I don’t want to”, we get tired much faster. And again - fatigue and yawning to get oxygen.

Why is it transmitted? Someone yawned - and everyone starts after him. Psychologists say that we inherited this reflex from our ancestors: everyone yawned, as if on command, from ancient times, when a tribe of primitive people went to bed at the same time. True, this is just a theory.

Sneeze

This is a defensive reaction. Dust accumulates in the nasal cavity, the mucosa dries, nerve endings are irritated, and a sneeze occurs - a sharp exhalation that helps to throw everything superfluous out of the nose so that no debris enters the nasopharynx further. By the way, the speed of exhaled air during a sneeze is 130 km per hour. If a person sneezes two or three times in a row, it's okay. But if more than 10, then there is already a problem. Most likely, swelling on the nasal mucosa. The body perceives it as an irritant and tries to get rid of it. If you sneeze many times in a row, try vasoconstrictor drops, they will help relieve swelling.

Stretching

This is how the body prepares muscles for physical activity. Have you followed cats? They never get up immediately after sleep, but first stretch with all their paws, restore blood circulation before taking a step. Sipping not only wakes you up in the morning. From fatigue, lactic acid accumulates in the muscles, and in order to disperse it, you need to stretch the muscles, just like after a workout.

Hiccups

Small children hiccup when they are cold, thirsty or overeaten. In adults, this is a signal that something is wrong in digestion. Most likely, a person ate too much, greedily and quickly, and poorly chewed large pieces irritate the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain along the pharynx and esophagus to the diaphragm and stomach. This nerve sends signals to the muscle fibers of the esophagus and stomach, causing spasms. With their help, the body, as during a sneeze, tries to get rid of the swelling of the esophageal mucosa.

How to beat hiccups? It depends on the reason. Drinking cold liquids in small sips will save you from "drunk" hiccups, holding your breath can help from hiccups due to overeating. Both the one and the other way inhibits irritation of the vagus nerve. But it’s definitely not worth scaring the hiccuping. This method of "treatment" is not approved by doctors.

Falling asleep, we startle

It happens that, falling into a dream, we suddenly wake up abruptly, because the arms and legs twitch by themselves. This is fine. The fact is that breathing calms down, the pulse slows down, the muscles relax, and the body is afraid that we can fall asleep ... completely. And with this very shudder, the brain wakes us up, makes us resume normal breathing so that it is not too rare. Here is such a constant control.

“Old fingers”

When we lie in the bath for a long time or wash something, the fingertips become wrinkled. Children love to look at drawings on "old fingers". It is believed that these patterns appear on the skin so that the fingers and toes in the water become more tenacious and do not slip. In fact, everything is much simpler. The skin on the balls of the fingers and heels is four times thicker than on other parts of the body. Therefore, it absorbs water better and swells.

Goosebumps

"Goosebumps" occurs when we are cold, but sometimes the music or the film is impressive "goosebumps". Everything is explained simply, and again by the heritage of the ancients. They had thicker hair. And when our ancestors were cold or frightened, the hair on their body stood on end (for warmth, fluffiness and intimidation). The wool has fallen out over the centuries, so we, fortunately, got only goosebumps.

Let's sweat

Sweating is a normal reaction to heat. To cool the skin, the body releases fluid, it evaporates from the surface of the body and takes away excess heat.

Another likely cause of sweating is disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system. In this case, sweat can be released from excitement, in stressful situations.

Redness

Vessels dilate, the skin turns red. If it’s hot, then it comes from temperature, and it also happens from shame, joy, love and other emotions, that is, there is a reaction to a change in the concentration of hormones in the blood (including adrenaline).