Hiccups - Causes and Home remedies

What is hiccups?

Hiccup is a condition that is experienced by every human being. The sound ’hic’ comes from the opening and closing of the mucous membrane which attached to the larynx. The diaphragm that separates the chest from abdomen moves up and down and facilitates breathing. Any obstruction of this process leads to the formation of the Hic sound that starts appearing from the mouth. This is called hiccup.

This condition prevails for few minutes or may take more than a day or week. If hiccup persist for more than a day, it is an alarming effect and may highlight a symptom of another severe disease. This hiccup can also be due to fast chewing of food. In ayurveda it is called as 'hikka'.

Causes of Hiccups

The main causes for hiccup are as follows:

1. diabetes

2. consumption of liquor

3. smoking

4. inflammation

5. pyloris

6. cancer

7. unconsciousness

8. pulling neck

9. chewing food in hurry

10. food with lots of chilly and other spice, etc.

All the above conditions leads to hiccups.

Home Remedies for Hiccups

Hiccup though is not a severe disease but it cause lots of uneasiness and irritates a person if it continues for more than 2-3 minutes. There are some easy and effective home remedies for hiccups, which are listed below:

Sugar

Take 1 tablespoon sugar and swallow it slowly. One tablespoon of sugar acts as the best remedy for hiccups. It is one of the most common remedies adopted all over the world. This is one of the useful home remedies for hiccups.

Curd with salt

Another good home remedy for hiccup is to eat half bowl of curd by adding 1-2 tablespoon of salt to it.

Adtrak (Ginger)

Eat small pieces of ginger.

Ela (Cardamom)

Add half tablespoon of cardamom powder to a glass of water. Allow this mixture to boil, till water become half. Cool it a little and then drink it slowly. The irritation caused in the diaphragm sooths and hiccup stops. This is one of the best home remedies for hiccups.

Ice

Place ice over the diaphragm, and quickly drink ice water.

Some other remedies:

1. Drink water directly or through straw with closing your ears with the fingers. It has an immediate effect on treating hiccups.

2. Another way is to simply close the eyes and hold your breath. Wait for few seconds and then exhale the breath. This too shows fast effect.

3. Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth, such that air should neither come out nor go in from them. Take a long breath after some time.

4. Press the eyeballs gently, while keeping mouth and ear close.

5. Try to avoid hiccup and concentrate on the work normally. After some time hiccup will disappear.

6. Similarly, one can try to laugh and speak louder so that the irritation in the diaphragm stays relaxed and hiccup stop.

7. Person suffering from hiccup should eat a well balanced diet and avoid any spicy or oily junk food.

8. Some people think that chewing huge bite of food during hiccup prevents it safely. This however is a myth since one of the root causes of hiccup is speed eating of food without chewing it.