Hiccups: A Guide for Conquering the Pesky Hiccups

Hiccups are annoying they come from no-where making you angry and embarrassed all at the same time. When you get them, your friends stare at you at first and then begin to bombard you with their own sure-fire cures for hiccups. You swat their suggestions away like troublesome flies because you have your own cures brought down from your mother's mother which you know will cure the hiccups forever. Or so you hope. But what are hiccups anyway?

What are hiccups?
Everyone has heard of Jennifer Mee The St. Petersburg girl who won her fame for continous hiccupping. She has been hiccupping since Jan 23 to have them leave on thier own two months later. Hiccups lasting this long is unusual, says Dr. Jeremiah Donovan, a gastroenterologist. "You get them and they go away on their own within a few hours, he says. Considered by everyone as being very annoying and especially inconvenient at times they are clinically defined as involuntary spasms from the diaphragm. What is happening is the muscle divides the chest from the abdomen that aids in breathing. The spasms you have is from the vocal cords cause your vocal cords to briefly close and this produces the strange, funny, sound that gives hiccups their name.

The cause of hiccups
The cause of these embarrassing noisy spasms is elusive, some say hiccups are linked to drinking fizzy drinks too fast, stress, spicy foods, or sudden excitement. Every possible cause I listed can irritate the diaphragm, the upper stomach, or the phrenic nerve, that controls the contractions of the diaphragm. Hiccups are usually not dangerous, however, their persistent annoyance once you have them makes you sound goofy and feeling stupid for about less than 24 hours. Hiccups lasting 48hours or more with headaches, sleeplessness, exhaustion should be looked after. This could indicate a more serious problem.

Cures for the hiccups

Tips to cure the troublesome hiccups are:
1.
Holding your breath - This cure is not always effective but it is worth a try. Hold your breath for 15-20 seconds and swallow hard three times. It doesn't always work the first time so you have to try it for three.

2.
Tongue on your upper lip- Stick your tongue on your upper lip. Focus on your tongue while slowly breathing. Or stick your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

3.
Chew and swallow bread- this is truly an old housewife's tale. Take a piece of sliced white bread and slowly chew than swallow.

4. Drink lemon juice-You can use "Real" lemon juice or squeeze a lemon wedge. Do not use a lemon-flavored powder. Take a shot glass and fill it with 1-2 once of the lemon juice. Drink the shot glass down in one gulp.

5.
Gargle with salt water for 30 seconds.

6.
Take a teaspoon of dry sugar and hold on the back of your tongue, press it against the roof of your mouth.

7.
Drink a glass of water backwards while bending over-Drink a glass of room temperature water, bend at the waist. Place the lips on the side of the glass opposite from the way you normally drink. Tip the glass away from your body and into your mouth. Then swallow and repeat. Enjoy your new life without hiccups.

8.
Calm down and try breathing regularly-It quickly stops the hiccups. (This always works for me).

The cure for the hiccups is not an exact science. You really can't pin down what may work and what doesn't. Everyone has their own sure fire way of conquering the hiccups that go down from thier Grandma's, mother's, mother's, mother. Please feel free to comment below and tell me what yours are and if they work. Don't be shy.