Hiccups: Common cures, causes, and when to seek medical attention
Knowing when to see the doctor about hiccups

What are the symptoms of hiccups?

Hiccups are brief spasms of your diaphragm that lasts for a few minutes or seconds. These spasms are actually involuntary contractions of the diaphragm muscle and the opening between your vocal cords snap shut to check the inflow of air. Hiccups are brought about by an irritation of the nerves in the neck and chest.

Hiccups are associated with a variety of illnesses, including some serious ones such as pneumonia. However, in the overwhelming majority of cases, hiccups are harmless and occur without serious illnesses.

What can cause hiccups?

Although several medical conditions are associated with hiccups, none are known to be the definitive cause of hiccups. Hiccups can be caused by eating too fast, which makes you swallow air along with your food. Eating too much or drinking alcohol too much can irritate the diaphragm and make you get hiccups.

Hiccups occur when your stomach is distended or stretched in some way to irritate the diaphragm. Since hiccups occur while eating and drinking, some believe that hiccups are a reflex to keep you from choking.

When should I seek medical attention for hiccups?

If your hiccups last for more than eight hours, you should see a doctor. See a doctor also if the hiccups affect sleeping patterns and eating.

Although hiccups are very rarely an emergency, you should seek medical attention if you get severe abdominal pain or spit up blood as you hiccup.

Hiccups Treatment

You can use a variety of home remedies for hiccups. These remedies are thought to work because it is commonly believed carbon dioxide build-up in the blood will stop hiccups, which is what happens when you hold your breath. Thus, if the vagus nerve that runs from the brain to the stomach is stimulated, hiccups can also be cured. Drinking water or holding your tongue is thought to stimulate the vagus nerve.

The following methods can be tried at home:
Pull hard on your tongue.

Become frightened (have someone scare you)
Hold your breath.
Drink a glass of water quickly
Use smelling salts.
Place one-half teaspoon of dry sugar on the back of your tongue. (You can repeat this process 3 times at 2-minute intervals. Use corn syrup, not sugar, in young children.)

Medical Treatment for the hiccups

The severity of the hiccups determines the types of treatments for the hiccups.

Common hiccups will usually stop on their own. Home remedies are recommended for common hiccups.

However, severe persistent hiccups may require a medication from your doctor. Chlorpromazine is one prescription medication used to manage hiccups. Other drugs such as baclofen and phenytoin have also been successful in treating hiccups. For the last resort, there is a surgery to disable the nerve that controls the diaphragm to stop hiccups permanently.