The reason you get hiccups and how to cure them

But in some cases, hiccups can last a lot longer – more than 2 days – as a sign of an underlying problem like acid reflux or central nervous system damage.

There is no definite method to get rid of hiccups. In fact, the longest known hiccup lasted 68 years. However, some medications are helpful if your hiccups last longer than 2 days.

What is hiccups?

Professor Troy Madsen, University of Utah (USA), explains: “Hiccups are caused by spasms of the muscles that control breathing.”

Specifically, the diaphragm, the large muscle at the base of the lungs, and the muscle in the chest may suddenly contract. This is similar to a spasm in the calf muscle.

When these muscles contract, you breathe in quickly, causing your throat to close very quickly, resulting in hiccups.

Eating too much or too fast

This habit can cause your stomach to expand beyond its normal size. When this happens, the stomach presses on or irritates the diaphragm located at the top of the abdomen. The diaphragm constricts, causing hiccups.

If you have hiccups due to overeating, you need to wait for the food to be fully digested until you feel better. During this time, you should go for a walk to help ease your stomach.

Swallow the air

The stomach can expand when swallowing air, pushing up on the diaphragm and causing hiccups. This happens because:

Chewing gum: Even without realizing it, you may be swallowing air when chewing gum, especially if you open your mouth while chewing.

Drinking carbonated drinks: Swallowing carbon dioxide bubbles in drinks fills the stomach with gas and causes belching or hiccups.

Smoking: Smokers constantly swallow air, which easily causes hiccups.

Eating too quickly: Eating quickly increases the amount of air you swallow.

If you’ve swallowed too much air, burping may release some of the air. But you should also stop chewing gum, drinking soda, or smoking until the hiccups subside.

Acid reflux

This is a condition that occurs when stomach acid backs up into the throat or esophagus. Factors that cause acid reflux include eating spicy or fried foods; drinking alcohol or coffee; eating late at night.

Reflux causes hiccups because “the esophagus is next to the diaphragm and irritation in this area leads to muscle spasms.”

Drinking too much alcohol

Alcohol is highly acidic, which can easily irritate the lining of the stomach and esophagus, leading to hiccups.

Some beverages contain alcohol, such as carbonated beer. Carbon dioxide will expand the stomach and lead to hiccups.

Pregnant

A growing baby can put pressure on the diaphragm, causing hiccups. Acid reflux is also a common side effect of pregnancy.

There’s not much you can do about your developing baby, but there are ways to manage heartburn during pregnancy, such as avoiding irritating foods and eating smaller meals more often.

Stress

Scientists don’t know exactly how stress causes hiccups, but there are a few theories:

Accidentally swallowing air: When we are stressed, we often increase our breathing and some of the air can go into the stomach instead of the lungs. When this happens, your stomach expands, leading to hiccups.

Nervous System Disruption: When you’re feeling particularly anxious, this has the potential to mess up the nerve pathways between the brain and the diaphragm, causing hiccups.

Damage to the central nervous system

Persistent hiccups are divided into two main categories: Lasting more than 2 days and more than 1 month.

It’s a sign that you have brain or central nervous system damage. The reason is that you have several nerves that transmit information between your brain and abdomen, including the diaphragm.

This means parts of the brain, damaged by a tumor or stroke, cause hiccups.

The normal hiccup reflex can also be caused by neurological conditions such as: traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, diabetes, encephalitis …

How to cure?

Hiccups have no specific treatment. However, you can try different home remedies like drinking water quickly, holding your breath or breathing into a paper bag.

If hiccups are difficult to cure or persist for more than 48 hours, you should see your doctor for a prescription. When hiccups are a symptom of another medical condition, that illness needs to be treated.

Some diseases cause long-term hiccups:

Nervous system disorders such as stroke, brain injury or brain tumor

Digestive problems such as a hiatal hernia or a bowel ulcer

– Respiratory disorders such as pneumonia, bronchitis or asthma

Cardiovascular diseases such as pericarditis, aortic aneurysm or myocardial ischemia

– Using drugs, tranquilizers, steroids and chemotherapy drugs.

An Yen (According to Insider)