The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
theatlantic.com
The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
1–10 of 18 posts
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#2Anecdotal and not guaranteed to work for everyone: I have found holding my breath for as long as possible stops hiccups. And you can't cheat with this, you literally have to hold your breath until you think you're going to die. Most people don't like unpleasant situations like that, so when I suggest it, they scoff, but for me it works most of the time.
I think the reason it works, is it dampens the power the spasms have, by doing a pattern interrupt. 'Oh looks like we can't do spasms anymore, this person is running out of oxygen, let's re-allocate resources to things like breathing properly'.
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#3Totally anecdotal, but it has worked on everyone that I've shared this with. Take a paper towel and put it over a cup of water and drink the water through the paper towel. I'm guessing the net affect of this is similar to the straw mentioned in the article. It feels easier to do that a breathing exercise.
It also does work while being inebriated
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#4My method: swallow water while holding your breath and pinching your nose. Learned this at a young age, it definitely works. I think it creates the pressure that the article discusses.
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#5I've learned while raising my babies that making them laugh or cry can cure their hiccups. Crying is obviously not an attractive option for adults, but I suppose faking a laugh might do the trick.
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#6My go-to method is to eat a tablespoon of sugar. Works every time.
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#7Anecdotal and not guaranteed to work for everyone: I have found holding my breath for as long as possible stops hiccups. And you can't cheat with this, you literally have to hold your breath until you think you're going to die. Most people don't like unpleasant situations like that, so when I suggest it, they scoff, but for me it works most of the time. I think the reason it works, is it dampens the power the spasms…
The reason you give is also how I understand it to work. There usually comes a point where I would think I should have had another spasm but none came, and shortly after that is when I release my breath. It works very reliably; I cannot remember a time when it failed to get rid of hiccups.
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#8Full article https://archive.md/8kLPE
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#9I was strongly hoping that they'd be telling their audience to stick things up their butt. Alas not, but the method is, in the words of pokémon masters everywhere, "Super Effective" and won an IgNobel. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2299306/
Just look up "digital rectal massage". Digital here means with fingers.
Re: The Cure for Hiccup Exists, and It's Free
#10Anecdotal and not guaranteed to work for everyone: I have found holding my breath for as long as possible stops hiccups. And you can't cheat with this, you literally have to hold your breath until you think you're going to die. Most people don't like unpleasant situations like that, so when I suggest it, they scoff, but for me it works most of the time. I think the reason it works, is it dampens the power the spasms…
Interesting! A technique I've used successfully in the past is the opposite, but with the same effect: breathing out completely and holding that. Comes with the "advantage" that you get to the point of thinking you're going to die much quicker.