When I was a waitress, I would regularly get the hiccups during the 2 AM after-bar rush. "Can I -hic- get you -hic- any -hic- thing to -hic-hic-?" That always got me the big tips, let me tell you. But seriously, if you're like me, getting the hiccups is something you dread, because they're not just hiccups, they're monster hiccups--loud, deep, painful hiccups that leave you clutching your chest and send everyone around you into spasms of laughter.
So what can you do to get rid of an attack of hiccups? The causes hiccups can vary widely, but swallowing too much air is usually at fault, so avoid drinking or eating too fast. And if you do fall prey to some diaphragmatic spasms, consider the suggestions below to get rid of your hiccups.
Getting Rid of Hiccups
The only thing that can get rid of my mammoth hiccups is to hold my breath. Inhale (or exhale) deeply and hold the air in (or out of) your lungs for as long as you can (but not so long you pass out). If you can, concentrate on quelling the hiccups as you feel them coming. Willpower is everything.
Make yourself burp (if you can). Done well, this can get any air you might have swallowed out of your windpipe and stop your hiccups. Think of burping a baby right after they've eaten. Jonathan swears by this technique. I've found it physically impossible to make myself burp. But then again, he's a man; burping's like second nature to him, right?
Drink a glass of water in one sitting. While the water itself probably won't get rid of your hiccups, the act of drinking (like holding your breath) will change, or temporarily stop, your normal breathing pattern and disrupt the pattern of diaphragm spasms, or hiccups. If you do this for long enough, the hiccups should go away.
Breathe quickly (hyperventilation) to get rid of hiccups. Again, the same principal of breathing disruption seen in the above steps is applied here. Hyperventilating into a paper (never plastic) bag may help you to focus on the breathing enough to stop your hiccups.
Swallow a teaspoonful of dry sugar to get rid of hiccups. Remember the Mary Poppins song (sing with me now) "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go do-own"? Well apparently she was right. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that swallowing a teaspoonful of dry sugar immediately stopped the hiccups in 19 out of 20 cases.Professional Hiccup Cures
If your hiccups last for longer than 24 hours (or 3 hours in the case of small children), they could be the symptom of a more serious medical condition and you should see a doctor. There are some prescription drugs, such as Thorazine or Procardia, that work to get rid of hiccups by affecting the nerves in the diaphragm.
