How to Get Rid of Hiccups

Hiccups never book an appointment. One moment you are halfway through a sentence, the next your chest gives a small jolt and an awkward little "hic" slips out. Almost every bout is harmless and drifts away by itself within minutes. Even so, when hiccups interrupt a phone call, a meal or a quiet room, wanting them gone a little faster is completely understandable.

Below you will find a plain explanation of what your body is doing, the home methods people reach for most often, the everyday habits that seem to invite hiccups, and the signs that a stubborn case deserves a professional opinion.

What is actually happening

Under your lungs sits the diaphragm, a dome-shaped sheet of muscle that pulls downward each time you breathe in. A hiccup is a sudden, involuntary twitch of that muscle. Air rushes into your chest, and a split second later the vocal cords snap closed. That quick closure is what makes the sound.

The twitch is a reflex, run by nerves that connect the brain, the chest and the upper belly. When something stretches or irritates that pathway, such as a stomach filled in a hurry, the reflex can slip into a repeating loop. Most home remedies try to break that loop, either by changing the rhythm of your breathing or by giving the back of your throat something else to respond to.

Everyday triggers

• Eating fast or eating a lot at once. A suddenly full stomach presses up toward the diaphragm.
• Fizzy drinks. The bubbles add gas, and with it more stretch.
• Swallowed air. Chewing gum, talking while eating and drinking through a straw all let extra air slip down.
• Abrupt temperature swings. A steaming coffee followed by an ice-cold drink is a classic culprit.
• Strong emotions. Excitement, nerves and long bursts of laughter all change the way you breathe.
• Alcohol and fiery food. Plenty of people notice these set them off.

Gentle tricks worth trying

No single method is proven to work for everyone, and a trick that stops your hiccups may do nothing for a friend. The ideas below are generally considered safe for healthy adults when done calmly. If one does not help after a few attempts, simply move on to another, or wait it out.

Slow your breathing

1. A short breath-hold. Breathe in, hold for a comfortable moment, then let the air out slowly. Repeat a handful of times, and stop if you feel dizzy.
2. Long exhales. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four and out through your mouth for a count of six. The longer out-breath tends to settle a jumpy rhythm.
3. Cupped hands. Some people find that breathing slowly into their own cupped hands calms things down. Never use a plastic bag.

Give your throat something to do

• Take slow sips from a glass of cold water while sitting upright.
• Gargle cold water for a few seconds, then spit it out.
• Let a little sugar sit on your tongue for a moment before swallowing.
• Bite into a wedge of lemon, if you enjoy the sharpness.

Change your position

• Sit down and hug your knees gently toward your chest for about a minute.
• Lean forward while seated so your chest is lightly folded over your thighs.

A couple of popular ideas are best skipped. Being made to jump by a friend rarely helps and is often more unpleasant than the hiccups themselves. Pressing on your eyes or your neck, a tip that does the rounds online, is not safe to try at home.

At a glance

Method	Why people try it	Worth remembering
Breath-hold	Interrupts the reflex rhythm	Stop if you feel light-headed
Cold water sips	Busy swallowing stimulates the throat	Sit upright, small sips
Knees to chest	Light pressure near the diaphragm	Skip it if your stomach feels uncomfortably full
Sugar on the tongue	A brief new sensation at the back of the mouth	A pinch is plenty

Keeping the next bout away

If hiccups usually show up after meals, small changes can make a difference. Slow down, set your fork down between bites, and save the fizzy drinks for another time. Hiccups and a tight, gassy stomach often turn up as a pair, so our piece on how to reduce bloating is a natural next read: many of the same eating habits ease both.

A word about babies

Babies hiccup a lot, often during or after feeds, and it rarely seems to trouble them. Burping during a feed and holding the baby upright for a while afterwards are common suggestions. If you have any worry about how a baby is feeding or breathing, ask your pediatrician or family doctor.

See a doctor if …

An ordinary bout of hiccups needs no treatment at all. It is worth booking an appointment if:

• your hiccups last longer than two days, or keep returning over several weeks;
• they make it hard to eat, drink or sleep;
• they arrive with stomach pain, vomiting, heartburn that will not settle or difficulty swallowing;
• they began soon after you started a new medicine.

Long-lasting hiccups are unusual, but now and then they are linked to another health problem or to a medication, and a doctor can help find the reason. If hiccups ever come with chest pain or serious trouble breathing, call your local emergency number straight away.