Hiccups can be a real nuisance in everyday life; it appears all of a sudden and sometimes persists indefinitely. They are indeed quite bothersome and can be even embarrassing if you are in a public place.
There is no direct medical cure for hiccups, which event propels our necessity to look out for quick and easy home remedies to get rid of it. Sometimes hiccups can start after certain physical or mental shock.
Eating fiery chilies can also cause hiccups in some people. In most of the cases, no particular reason has been found that triggers hiccups. Before we proceed to the ways to get rid of it, let us take a brief look at why the hiccups occur.
The medical term used for defining hiccups is Synchronous Diaphragmatic Flutter (SDF). Normally, the condition occurs as a reason of sudden involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, which leads to synchronous contraction of the larynx, blocking the path of air flow which produces the irritating sound along with the jerk.
In most of the cases, hiccups go away on their own, with or without taking any extra measures. However, there can be persistent cases that need medical attention. Here are some of the best known home remedies that can be helpful to get rid of hiccups fast and quick,
Drink water
Drinking water is surely one of the very first remedies to cure hiccups. If simply drinking water does not help follow any or some of the next process to get rid of it.
- Take a mouth full of water and close your ear holes with your fingers. Now gulp the water down in an instance. This method has been found to be most effective.
- Place a glass full of water on a table and drink the water from the distant end of the glass while standing on your feet.
- Drinking water with your head down towards the floor is also suggested as a quick way of getting rid of hiccups. Just hang your head down towards the floor from a couch or bed and drink some water from a glass.
- Gargling with ice cold water has been found to be effective for many people.
- Drink a glass of warm water without breathing and there is maximum chance that your hiccups will go away.
- Take a glass of water and cover it with a paper towel. Now drink the water from the glass by sucking on the towel. This tactic makes you to use more suction for getting the water out, which helps in getting rid of the hiccups.
- Take a deep breath and drink a whole glass of water before letting the breath out.
Eat something
For many eating something, quickly kills the hiccups. According to reports, in many people it has been observed that taking full course of lunch or dinner can help in getting rid of hiccups quickly. You can also try out the following,
- Eat ice cream: Having an ice cream just when you are getting irritated with hiccups can be very helpful to get rid of it. It has been found that a sugar treat is often helpful to reduce hiccups and ice cream being cold it can be actually effective to make your hiccups go away.
- Place some granulated sugar in your mouth: You can simply put a spoon of granulated sugar in your mouth and suck it without chewing. This can be helpful.
- Eat a sweet lozenge: Having a sweet lozenge just when you are having the hiccups can help you to get rid of it quickly. Just do not bite on it, suck it for as long as possible.
- Take vinegar: Take a few drops of vinegar on your tongue and it is believed to be helpful.
- Have sour pickles: Having some sour pickles when you are having hiccups can help.
- Suck on lemon: Take a thin slice of lemon and suck in the juice slowly. This has helped many to get rid of hiccups.
- Have a spoon of peanut butter: Take a tablespoon of peanut butter in your mouth and hold it in for 20-30 seconds and then swallow it without chewing. This can effectively reduce hiccups.
- Eat some salt: Take 1 spoon of salt in your mouth, hold it in for 5 seconds and then swallow it down slowly. Follow with a bit of water.
Try the following breathing techniques
Breathing and swallowing in certain ways can be effective to get rid of hiccups immediately.
- Breathe in and hold the breath for ten seconds before letting it out. Repeat for 3-4 times and the hiccup is expected to go away.
- Breathing into a paper bag or a balloon can also be an effective solution.
- Blowing a conch repeatedly for 5-6 times has been found to be effective for many. It causes extra contraction of the diaphragm and can be effective to cure hiccups quickly.
- Take a mouth full of air, close your ears with your finger and then gulp down the air. Do this repeatedly for 3-4 times to get rid of hiccups.
- Breathe in air till you can hold and then bend your neck forward so that you cannot expel the air. Hold in the position for 10-20 seconds and then let the air go off. This will break the breathing cycle and probably will cure the hiccups too.
Movements
Some simple body movement can be effective to get rid of hiccups immediately.
- Sit in a cross legged posture and bend to the front, till your upper body feels the tension. This can be helpful to stretch the muscles of upper body helping in reducing hiccups.
- Sit on your hips and press the legs onto your chest. Hold the position for 10 seconds and then release. Repeat for 5-8 times.
- Press the chest gently and slowly. Also try to contract the muscles on your chest putting a pressure on the diaphragm. This might be helpful to get rid of hiccups.
Some other common things that might help
- Burping: For many people hiccups go away with burping. The easiest way to burp is to have a soda drink or carbonated cold drink.
- Cough: Coughing can also be helpful for getting rid of hiccups quickly.
- Ask a friend to tickle: Tickling can be helpful to get rid of hiccups instantly. Tickling causes you to laugh, and results into excitement in the body and also changes the breathing pattern. Both of which can be helpful to get rid of hiccups.
- Ask a friend to startle you suddenly by patting at the back or on the head. In these cases the concentration moves to other things which can help in stopping the hiccups.
- According to some there is an “African way” which can be an easy process to stop hiccups. Just wet one side of a paper and place it on the forehead of the person having hiccups. It is believed to stop it.
In case nothing seems to help, and your hiccups are continuing even after 48 hours of normal lifestyle, you should consult a doctor and opt for required medical assistance.
