If you’ve ever Googled “how to get rid of hiccups” in a bout of frustration, we can’t really blame you. The human body is endlessly awe-inspiring but, as anyone who’s experienced hiccups in the middle of a job interview, date, or pretty much any time in life knows, it can be incredibly annoying as well. With that in mind, is there anything you can do to get rid of hiccups on your own? Asking for a friend here, of course. The answer: Maybe.
What Are Hiccups?
Hiccups are involuntary contractions of your diaphragm, which is the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen, the Mayo Clinic says. After each of those contractions, your vocal cords suddenly close—and that creates that classic “hic” sound.
Your diaphragm serves an important purpose: It’s the main muscle you use to breathe, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Whenever you breathe in, your diaphragm tightens and moves downward. When you breathe out, it relaxes and rises into your chest cavity.
When something irritates your diaphragm, it can spasm and make you suck air into your throat. Aaand now you’ve got the hiccups. Hiccups typically fade within a few days, the Cleveland Clinic says. If they stick around longer than that, you’re dealing with persistent hiccups. If they last a few months or longer, which is really rare but still technically possible, they’re known as intractable hiccups.
Why Do Hiccups Happen?
It can feel like hiccups come out of nowhere, but as we mentioned, they usually start when something irritates your diaphragm, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Those irritants can include:
Eating too quickly
Eating too much
Eating hot or spicy foods
Drinking alcohol
Drinking carbonated drinks
Diseases that irritate the nerves that control the diaphragm
Feeling nervous or excited
Certain medicines
Abdominal surgery
Metabolic disorders
Central nervous system disorders
The actual mechanisms behind why these factors can cause hiccups are a little less clear. With that said, it’s thought to involve a reflex between the phrenic and vagus nerves that run from the neck into the diaphragm via the chest, Celine Thum, M.D., who has treated people in the emergency room for significant pain and difficulty eating and communicating caused by prolonged hiccups, tells SELF.
“There is a hiccup reflex arc that relies on multiple neural pathways, which is thought to include ‘input’ from nerves like the phrenic and vagus nerve; a central nervous system mediator, which may be either in the brain or spinal cord; and ‘output’ to nerves that are responsible for the sudden contraction of the diaphragm and closure of the [vocal cords],” Cedars-Sinai internal medicine specialist Nicole Van Groningen, M.D., tells SELF.
Hiccups that last longer than 48 hours tend to have underlying factors, like nerve damage or irritation from gastroesophageal reflux, which happens when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus, causing heartburn. Metabolic conditions can also screw with your hiccup reflex. For example, people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes might experience damage to their vagus nerves, which can influence how well their bodies regulate hiccups.
It’s a similar story with health conditions like multiple sclerosis that might impair your central nervous system, thereby affecting your body’s ability to control your hiccups normally. Some of those include meningitis and a traumatic brain injury, the Mayo Clinic says. Various drugs, including tranquilizers and steroids, can also contribute to hiccups.
How to Get Rid of Hiccups
Here’s the deal: There aren’t many scientifically sound ways to get rid of hiccups. In fact, there’s no real medical consensus on how exactly to handle hiccups. That said, many doctors swear by these methods for how to get rid of hiccups, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic, and various pieces of research studying how to get rid of hiccups: