How to Cure Hiccups: Four Ways that Work

There are four ways to naturally cure the hiccups. They work, I have used them all. I have to say thanks to an ex-girl friend of mine, I am an expert on this subject. Three of the four methods involve stimulating the soft palate and the gag reflex.

The soft palate is the upper rear of your mouth. Stick your finger back there until you are ready to puke and your hiccups stop. That is method one, puking. Actually puking of course is not a desirable way of ending a bout of the hiccups. It is better to end them without regurgitating. So there are two ways of stimulating the gag reflex without actually puking most of the time.

Sugar is the simplest method. Take a teaspoon of sugar and place it on the back of your tongue. Then massage your soft palate with your tongue coated with that sugar. Once you get close to puking without actually puking, the hiccups stop. This sometimes requires two or three doses of sugar. You have to concentrate on the massage not the swallow for it to work.

Drinking upside down is the third method. This is comical but effective. Take a glass of water and drink it upside down. Yep, the glass is on your upper lip, your head is tilted so the water flows over the roof of your mouth and you drink in the most awkward manner you ever have. It works because it stimulates the gag reflex.

The final method is a personal challenge that requires some Zen style discipline. Death is also a good stimulus to end silly non-voluntary reactions. This is the over exhale method. If you get the hiccups inhale as deeply as you can, you may have a hiccup or two while that happens, then exhale as long as possible in a slow steady manner, again there will be a few hiccups. Keep exhaling until you just can't anymore, really push that limit, and hold that exhale for twenty seconds and the hiccups are gone. Once your involuntary reflexes get with the survival game plan, the hiccups are gone.

You think I am blowing smoke up your butt? Try any one these with conviction, they all work. The Zen one requires a little more discipline, but is cool once you master the method.