Common causes and treatment of hiccups

Hiccups occur very commonly.Hiccups are caused when the diaphragm gets contracted suddenly.The diaphragm is the muscle which is found between the lower ribs and the back which supports the process of breathing.When the diaphragm gets contracted it causes you to breathe quickly as the incoming air is blocked when the glottis gets closed suddenly, leading to the sound of hiccup.

There are many causes for the occurrence of hiccups.One of the main cause of hiccup is when the phrenic nerve, the diaphragm or the lungs gets irritated.Cold,hot or spicy beverages can cause irritation in the diaphragm and diseases such as pneumonia can cause irritation of phrenic nerve which produces hiccups.The factors which increases the risk of developing hiccups are-intake of spicy, cold or hot foods,stress,surgery or being male(hiccups are more likely to occur in males than females).

Common causes of hiccups:

1)When you eat very fast,you tend to swallow the air along with your food which  causes hiccups to occur.

2)Overeating or eating till the stomach is full causes hiccups.

3)Hiccups are caused due to sudden change in the temperature of stomach like drinking cold and then hot food.

4)Nervousness,drinking too much alcohol,pneumonia,adverse effect of certain drugs or tumour can causes hiccups.

5)Hiccups are also caused due to disorders of the central nervous system, injury to the vagus nerves and metabolic disorder which effect the peripheral nervous system.

Treatment of Hiccups-

The hiccups doesn’t need to be treated as they stop on their own after sometime.Yet, if you feel uncomfortable and need quick relief then you can try the following home based methods.

1) Hold your breath as long as possible can help you in relieving  hiccups.

2)Bend forward from the waist and drink water from the far side of the glass.

3)Drink a glass filled with water and ice cubes very slowly helps in reducing the hiccups.

4)Pull hard on your tongue to stop hiccups.

5)Other ways to treat hiccups are- breathing in and out of a paper bag,relaxing,take a bite of lemon,gargle with water,eat a teaspoon of sugar or honey, and hold your breath and count slowly to 10.

“The information present here is for general purpose please consult your doctor before taking any medication/therapy”