angel120 Posted May 1, 2004 Posted May 1, 2004 Is there a fool-proof, 100% effective way to stop the hiccups? I've had these annoying spasms for at least half an hour and i tried holding my breath and drinking water but they still won't go away!
moimeme Posted May 1, 2004 Posted May 1, 2004 Oh dear! I'm sorry I didn't see this last night and hope you've recovered. A surefire cure is to eat a teaspoon of sugar. Swallow it all at once and hiccoughs are gone. The sugar tweaks the gizmo in your palate that causes the hiccoughs to happen. I've tried it on kids and adults and it has worked every single time.
eye Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 I had a hiccup for days once, try this one too..it works on mine (1) Pour a TALL glass of water. (2) Hold your breath... *** (3) IMPORTANT...PINCH YOUR NOSE CLOSED. (4) Slowly, take 10 - 20 swallows of the water...while holding your breath with your nose pinched closed. (5) When you can't stand it any more....you'll know by that overwhelming drowning sensation -- after a gasp, take a deep breath and relax. This cures the hiccups 99 percent of the time - guaranteed! It's a proven medical remedy! (A second treatment could be necessary for stubborn cases.) *** For stubborn cases, try EXHALING COMPLETELY and then taking 10 - 20 swallows. NOW: HERE'S WHY IT WORKS: Hiccups are caused by an uncontrollable spasm in the diaphragm, (the "breathing" muscle). Often, this spasm is triggered by irritable conditions in the smooth muscles of the stomach or the esophagus. The "Hughes/Green Hiccups Cure" forces an increase in the carbon dioxide levels in the diaphragm itself, as well as in the stomach and esophagus. By swallowing, you are making the muscles work -- so they use up their available oxygen and replace it with carbon dioxide. By temporarily discontinuing to breath, you prohibit new oxygen from entering your body and thus create an anaerobic condition in the spasming diaphragm muscle. When the spasming diaphragm and stomach are deprived temporarily of oxygen and encounter the higher levels of carbon dioxide ... you feel that scary drowning sensation! BUT this causes the spasming muscles to relax! The hiccups go away! Essentially, you are "tricking" your body into thinking that it's drowning ... and it decides to use it's resources for something other than hiccuping. The rather "scary" drowning sensation caused by this method is NECESSARY for the method to work. If it's not just a little bit difficult ... it doesn't work.
bluechocolate Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 Originally posted by moimeme Oh dear! I'm sorry I didn't see this last night and hope you've recovered. A surefire cure is to eat a teaspoon of sugar. Swallow it all at once and hiccoughs are gone. The sugar tweaks the gizmo in your palate that causes the hiccoughs to happen. I've tried it on kids and adults and it has worked every single time. This really does work. The trick is to try and get it down "dry" so hold you head back and slowly trickle the sugar to the back of the throat. It'll work with any granular substance; salt, sand, etc. but obviously sugar is the best option!
Papillon Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 Yes, it's the granulated stuff you have to swallow that makes you hold your breath. A bunch of dry biscuits will do the same trick (Baker's Marie biscuits are ideal). But there's no 'gizmo' in your palate that causes hiccups (I guess you're talking about your uvula - it has nothing to do with hiccups) - hiccups are a spasm of your diaphram, which lies between your lungs and your guts. Just keep on holding your breath, or continously breath into a paper bag. Eventually the acidosis caused by the carbon dioxide overload in your bloodstream will stop the spasming. It simply has to, it's a physiological certainty.
moimeme Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 But there's no 'gizmo' in your palate that causes hiccups (I guess you're talking about your uvula - it has nothing to do with hiccups) - hiccups are a spasm of your diaphram, which lies between your lungs and your guts. No, I know what the uvula is (and that it's not related to the frenulum ) It actually IS the soft palate which, when stimulated, stops the things. Simple physical manoeuvres that attempt to interrupt the hiccup reflex include: Stimulation of the nasopharynx, e.g. sipping ice water, swallowing granulated sugar, crushed ice or stale bread, inhaling smelling salts, tasting vinegar or angostura bitters, biting on a lemon or forcible traction of the tongue http://www.prodigy.nhs.uk/guidance.asp?gt=hiccups What to do: Stimulate the patient's soft palate by rubbing it with a swab, catheter tip or finger, just short of stimulating a gag reflex, and continue this for a few minutes. Alternatively, you may stimulate the same general area by depositing a tablespoon of granulated sugar at the base of the tongue, in the area of the lingual tonsils, and letting it dissolve. Such maneuvers (or their placebo effect) may abolish simple cases of hiccups.
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