Hiccups are often nothing more than a nuisance. A random hiccup might happen if you eat too fast or drink fizzy pop. These are repeated spasms of your diaphragm paired with a “hic” sound from your vocal cords closing. Your diaphragm is a thin, dome-shaped muscle that separates your chest from your belly. It moves downward when you breathe in and upward when you breathe out.
Two things happen when you hiccup:
- Your diaphragm pulls down suddenly between breaths, making you quickly suck in air.
- The glottis (space between your vocal cords) suddenly closes to stop more air from coming in.
These actions make the “hic” sound of a hiccup.
Hiccups usually go away on their own without any treatment. However, some people have hiccups that go on much longer than normal.
What triggers hiccups?
Hiccups happen when something irritates the nerves that cause your diaphragm to contract. These nerves, including your vagus nerve and phrenic nerve, make up a pathway that experts call a reflex arc. Reflex arcs manage your body’s involuntary functions.
These are processes you do not consciously control (like breathing, digestion and heart rate). Irritation of the nerves that control your diaphragm can cause it to suddenly contract.
There is often no clear cause for a random hiccup or two. But certain triggers might play a role, like:
- Eating too much or too fast
- Eating spicy foods or foods that are very hot or cold
- Drinking carbonated beverages
- Swallowing excessive air (aerophagia)
- Smoking tobacco or cannabis
- Drinking beverages containing alcohol
How to get rid of hiccups
The verdict is still out on how to stop hiccups that happen randomly. Experts have not found a hiccup cure. But hiccups usually go away on their own without you doing anything to stop them.
Still, you may feel so annoyed that you want to try a home remedy. Anecdotal evidence suggests certain home remedies might help by stimulating your vagus nerve or increasing carbon dioxide levels in your lungs.
To try and get rid of bothersome hiccups, you can:
- Briefly hold your breath
- Sip cold water
- Press on your eyes
- Pull on your tongue
- Bite into a lemon
- Breathe into a paper bag (not plastic)
- Swallow a spoonful of sugar
- Drink or gargle ice water
- Use decompression technique
