How to Treat Hiccups

I had what is called chronic hiccups. Which either last for more than 24 hours or recur daily for lengthy periods. Mine was the daily variety.They weren't little ones, they tended to be huge,loud and painful and interrupted EVERYTHING, repeatedly.

This article covers the different types of hiccups, what some of the causes might be,many of the possible remedies that have been suggested down through the years, possible preventions and also the remedy that has saved me from further pain and aggravation.

Hiccups-hiccups and more hiccups
Simple hiccups don't last very long and usually go away on their own.Chronic hiccups last longer than 24 hours or recur daily.Persistent hiccups last longer than 2 days and intractable hiccups last longer than 1 month. In two cases, Charles Osborne had hiccups for 68 years and in 2007,a teenager in Florida hiccuped for more than five weeks.
Wikipedia, http://www.answers.com/topic/hiccup

Possible Causes
Even though hiccups are very common,there is not a whole lot of solid understanding about most of their causes. That could be because no one has been known to die from hiccups-although it certainly has felt like
it.So, there have been no extensive lab studies nor National walks for the cure. However, I will list the possible or probable causes that have been considered such as: Disorders of the central nervous system, either by injury or irritation or by toxic or metabolic disorders like tumors, chemotherapy, drinking carbonated beverages or alcohol,overeating,rapid temperature changes, emotion,eating too fast or eating while talking and laughing.

Persistent or intractable hiccups may be caused by:Over-stretching of the neck,laryngitis,heartburn,irritation of the eardrum,general anesthesia,surgery,bloating,tumor lying on that particular nerve,
infection or diabetes.
Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia, http://www.answers.com/topic/hiccup

Suggested Remedies
Some swear by holding one's breath for as long as possible,breathing into a paper bag,swallowing a spoonful of sugar or peanut butter,bending forward from the waist and drinking water from the wrong side of a glass,acupressure,being startled,frightened or shocked,deep regular breathing,inhaling carbon dioxide,rectal massage,drinking a carbonated beverage containing salt to normalize the potassium-sodium balance (For persistent and intractable hiccups)or drinking vinegar.

Others have needed to be treated for an underlying disorder, or by prescription medication,injection of an anesthetic or surgery to block the affected nerve (Although it could cause problems with normal breathing.),

Also drinking lemon or pickle juice,standing on one's head and drinking water,repeating brain teasers, blocking both nose and ears while drinking small sips of water or blocking both ears while drinking water nonstop through a straw,tickling or gagging have been recommended.
Home Remedies:What Works,Gale Maleskey & Brian Kaufman

Others have found that eating slower,rubbing the eyes hard,squeezing the knees to the chest or grabbing the tongue and pulling it have been helpful.
High-Speed Healing,Edited by William LeGro

Sometimes eating papaya,pineapple or antacids may do the trick if indigestion is the cause.
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women, Edited by Sharon Faelten

And finally, here are some older, rather interesting suggestions:
'Take a cup of water, and say: Hiccups, Jiccups, Rise up Jacob, Seven gullups in the cup, Cure Hiccups' (Jones-Baker, 1977: 99). A correspondent in N&Q (5s:3 (1865), 465) writes that you must cross the front of the left shoe with the forefinger of the right hand, while you repeat the Lord's Prayer backwards.(Is that word-for-word or letter-by-letter?) In the 1820s, Edward Moor recommended holding the breath and saying, three times, 'Hiccup-sniccup-look up-right up-three drops in a cup-is good for the hiccup' (Moor, 1823: 167); long before that, in 1584, Reginald Scot commented, 'Some will hold fast their left thombe in their right hand when they hickot; or else will hold their chinne with their right hand whiles a gospell is soong.'
English Folklore, http://www.answers.com/topic/hiccup

Possible Preventions
Drinking in moderation, avoiding very hot or very cold food,avoiding cold showers,drinking carbonated drinks through a straw or eating slower are some of the possible things to try.

As we can see from the wide variety of remedies from so many different sources,hiccups appear to be something that most people have had to deal with down through history to the present time.

Now,that I no longer am being held hostage by hiccups, I can find some of these remedies humorous, even though they may be just the one you need. If you haven't found the solution, yet, try some of these. One of them
may take care of your problem, just as bending forward from the waist and drinking water from the wrong side of a glass has been solving my problem for years.

Sources:

http://www.answers.com/topic/hiccup

Home Remedies:What Works,Gale Maleskey & Brian Kaufman

High-Speed Healing,Edited by William LeGro

The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women, Edited by Sharon Faelten