There are hundreds of "cures" for hiccups, and although my method may sound just as campy, it has worked for everyone I have suggested it to. It's a simple situation of mind over matter. Hiccups are spasms in your diaphragm; a sudden spasm of your diaphragm causes air to rush into your lungs. Your windpipe responses by closing suddenly, thinking something is wrong. Hence, the "hic" sound. The only way to get rid of the hiccups is to control the spasms, and this can be accomplished through focused, controlled breathing. The best form of controlled breathing is Pranayama, commonly known as yoga breathing.
Much like blinking your eyes, breathing can be manipulated, and by learning to control your breathing, you can regain control of your diaphragm during hiccups. Yoga breathing gets you in touch with the diaphram through slow, deep breathing. The key to this type of breathing is
focus and
control. Just breathing deep will do nothing, you have to mentally take control of your lungs' sympathetic system. It can be done.
For a
how-to on yoga breathing, Health and Yoga has a
great page on the intricacies of the breathing technique. The basic idea is to breathe in through your nostrils slowly, and fill your lungs all the way down to your belly, and exhale slowly pushing all oxygen out of your body. Ideally, yoga masters are able to slow their breathing with each inhale/exhale. Great masters can breath in for thirty seconds and out for thirty seconds. Yeah, I'm not one of those people, but I have found that the focused breathing allows me to control my diaphragm and regain normal breathing.
If hiccups last for a long time, however, seek professional help.
The One Thing That'll Make Sunny Weather Even Better
Condiment: Five Faves: Apt2b.com's Mat Herman
Reader comments (Page 5 of 7)
Learned fronm a waitor and it always works for me.
ReplyHave someone stand behind you and plug your ears tightly while you drink a glass of water fast. presto it's done every time.
Why do you need yoga breathing? I just suck in all the air I can and hold it as long as I can then exhale as much as I can and hold that. I do it until my hiccups stop. It usually only takes 2 or 3 times. I never knew I was doing yoga when I did this and I wasn't sitting in the lotus position with my thumb and forefingers pinched togeth either.
ReplyA spoonful of sugar works too... I'm not too sure how healthy that is though.
ReplyThe only reason any of those "cures" out there work, including what this article is about, is because it makes you take your mind off the hiccups. You are so focused on the other thing that it relaxes the diaphragm and your throat...trust me, I always get the hiccups, including a random one every half hour or so, so it is tried and true. You just need to do something to make you forget about your hiccups (however persistent they are) and they can go away.
ReplyFORGET THE 1-2-3'S,,, FORGET THE PEANUT BUTTER,,, FORGET THE HOLDING BREATH,,, FORGET THE YOGA,,
ReplyTRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE,, IT'S NEVER FAILED ME YET:
ASK THE PERSON IF THEY'VE EVERSEEN A RABBIT IN THE WOODS
THEN ASK WHAT COLOR WAS IT
THEN ASK WHAT WAS THE COLOR INSIDE THE RABBIT'S EARS
VIOLA! HIC-CUPS ARE GONE!
One for sure cure is to drink a shot glass full of lime jiuce and hiccups will be gone!
ReplyDrinking water seems to be one of the common soulitions.........my version is to drink a glass of 'Ice Cold' water as fast as you can. It has something to do with soothing the "phrenic nerve" which has become irritated. As everyone else has stated.......(their answer)
Reply"Works Every Time!!"
My grandfather (very wise man) taught me the 'hiccup' trick when I was a little girl and it WORKS EVERYTIME. Get a glass of water and after a hiccup begin sipping and swallowing after EACH sip - - take 13 sips and swallows - 13 is the magic number - TRUST ME THIS WORKS EVERYTIME.
ReplyI hate to burst your bubbles guys but I used to get hiccups all the time until i learned to do a breathing trick. the breathing trick is very similar to this so called Yoga stuff that this lady is talking about but i don't believe in Yoga so i don't do that. However, ever since i've learned how to control my breathing when it comes to hiccups, i rarely get them anymore. i've taught some people how to do this kind of breathing but it has nothing to do with Yoga or anything and it only takes approximately a minute or two to accomplish this and wow, no more hiccups. Imagine that. And no one taught me how to do this trick. I learned this trick over years of being fed up with always getting loud obnoxious hiccups and drinking water did not do the trick. Only this breathing trick does the cure for me and works EVERY time without fail. If anyone wants to know how to learn what this breathing trick is, i'll be glad to describe to you how to do it. Once you learn how to do this trick, you'll wonder wonder why everybody doesn't know this "trick" . I hope somebody learns from it anyway cause i've been hiccup free for years and years now and I wouldn't say so in this comment section if I didn't feel there was some merit to it. Good luck y'all.
Replyinhail deeply and sharply ( like you are gasping) this usually will stop your diaphragam from spasming which is actually the real cause of hiccups...
ReplyDrinking through washcloth/dishtowel over a glass of water is the way to go! It has never failed anyone I've recommended it to. Works for yound and old alike. The yoga breathing might be hard to explain to a 3 year old but drinking the water through the cloth is fullproof!
ReplyI was watching a show on TV (probably a PBS science show) and they said that the hiccups is caused by a lack of carbon monoxide somewhere in the lungs and they suggested that you take a bag and breathe into the bag and then breathe back in the air you just breathed in to the bag. You need to try to fill all of your lungs with this carbon monixide air so breathe in until it feels like you can't breathe in any more. I get hiccups often and this works every time for me and I only have to do it once to get results. The carbon monoxide is probably why slow breathing or drinking while breathing might work also, because you are probably putting carbon monoxide back in your lungs somehow. But I think the bag is more effective for this.
ReplyThe peanut butter really works. It is great for kids because it works so fast and taste so good.
ReplySIT OR STAND. kEEP HEAD STRAIGHT. MOVE A PEN (IN VERTICLE POSITION) FROM SIDE TO SIDE BEGINNING WITH IT 6 INCHES IN FRONT OF PERSON'S NOSE INTO THEIR PERIFERAL VISION BESIDE THEIR HEAD. HAVE THEM FOLLOW TOP OF PEN WITH EYES WITHOUT MOVING HEAD. DO THIS 6 OR 8 TIMES BACK AND FORTH-BACK AND FORTH. IT WORKS.
ReplyI agree with drinking water. But what we do, and it always works, is have someone close your ears by putting their hands over them, and take ten little sips of water quickly....never fails
Replya dentiest once said he had never had anyone get the hicups in his chair while working on the people, came to the conclushion that the little (punching bag looking thing in the back of your mouth if one was to push it back a little your hick up will go away that is why water and such work.
ReplyI've always been able to rid myself of hiccups. I take a deep breath, and hold it until the next hiccup has passed. I then let my lungs full of air out very, very slowly. That's it! My hiccups are gone.
ReplyNancy's got it right. I would get the most god awful chest hurting hiccups. Years ago, I found out that if I excused myself and went somewhere private and gagged myself, the hiccups would immediately disappear. Privacy is good. Hard to explain why your gagging yourself.
Replyit works everytime for everyone. papertowel over glass of water and drink slowly from it and hiccups will go bye-bye.
ReplyThis has worked for everyone I have tried it on including myself and my children. It is based on a bartenders cure. Get a teaspoon of sugar squeeze some lemon or lime on the sugar and 1 dash of tabasco or bitters. Eat it like a teaspoon of medicine all at once. It works!
Reply