The cause of hiccups depends on whom you ask . The ancient Hellenic physician Galenthoughthiccups were violent emotion erupting from the torso , while others thought they were a sign of liver excitement . Today , evidence repoint to spasms in thediaphragm , the turgid muscle between the chest and abdomen that aids airflow during external respiration . This involuntary contraction can be brought on by a numeral of things that might irritate the face that control the motion of the brawn . A full breadbasket , heavyboozing , rapid shimmy in temperature either in spite of appearance or exterior of the stomach , and sealed emotion like shock or inflammation are allcommon culprits .
No matter the cause , the resultant is the same : The diaphragm spasms and causes us to take a quick hint . The sudden rush of aircausesthe epiglottis ( the flap that protects the space between the vocal cord ) to shut and interrupt the breathing place , which makes the familiar " hic " sound .
WHAT CURES THEM?
The effective curative for hiccup also depends on the person you ask . Almost all cures are based on one of two principles : One type works its magic trick by overcome the vagus nerve with another aesthesis . Thevagus nerveis a cranial mettle that innervate the stomach and conveys sensory information about the body ’s organs to the brain . When distracted by overpowering information of another sort , it basically tells the brainiac that something more crucial has come up and the hiccuping should probably be stopped ( pneumogastric boldness stimulation is also used tocontrol seizuresin epileptic and process drug - tolerant cases of clinical depression ) . The other method for cure hiccough is to step in with the breathing , increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood , and causing the consistence to focus on take rid of the of the CO2 and not making hiccups .
immerse aspoonful of sugaris in all probability the most commonly prescribed hiccup remedy and come into the first category . A teaspoon of sugar is usually enough to energise the vagus nerve cheek and make the body leave all about the hiccups . Even impassioned help of the clams cure disagree if the sugar should be hire dry or wash down with water , though .
If this home therapeutic does n’t work , and your hiccups are both dangerous and persistent , you may need to convey out the big guns . For chronic cases like this , doctors sometimes apply acocktailof Reglan ( a gastrointestinal stimulus ) and Thorazine ( an anti - psychotic with sedative properties ) to quiet things down . In some cases that resist these drugs , Kemstro , an anti - spasmodic , is also used . Other doctor have used vagus cheek stimulators embed in the upper chest of patients . The pacemaker - like gadget direct rhythmic bursts of electrical energy through the vagus nerve to the brain to keep the singultus rhythm in check .
Many people preferhome remediesto conflict their hiccough , which may include hold your breathing space , gargle ice water , or breathe into a newspaper publisher bag . While the same people will rely by the discourse they ’ve been using all these years , there ’s no firm scientific consensus that any of them actually work . But if it aid you , is n’t that all that matter ?
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An earlier version of this article appeared in 2012 .
