Home Remedies for Hiccups

Home Remedies for Hiccups can help control hiccups that interfere with eating, drinking, and talking.

You will not find a single person who can claim that he has never had hiccups in his life. Some people frequently have hiccups and a few others occasionally have them – which means, almost everyone has it. Hiccups usually go away on their own within a few minutes – but sometimes they may linger for long causing trouble.

Lifestyle Factors

No one can escape from hiccups – if not frequently, one may have hiccups on a few occasions. Though hiccups come and go quickly, lifestyle factors that may trigger hiccups include the following:

You may have hiccups when you eat very quickly and mindlessly and also when you are stressed or excited, eat spicy foods, drink carbonated beverages; eat too much; drink alcohol, and get exposed to weather changes quickly in the surrounding.

Other Causes of Hiccups

Some of the other causes of hiccups include certain medicines, abdominal surgery, disturbance in the nerves that control the diaphragm, brain tumors, and brain stroke.

Liver disease, lung disorders, and pneumonia can irritate the nerves that control the diaphragm and cause hiccups as well.

Home remedies for hiccups can help you get rid of hiccups that last for only a short duration or when you get short bouts of hiccups. However, if you have chronic hiccups that persist for longer than 48 hours, meet your doctor to rule out any underlying health issues.

Home Remedies for Hiccups

1. Cover your mouth with both hands (cupping), but breathe normally
2. Press the palm of your hand with the thumb of another hand – as hard as possible. This is just to create a distraction that prompts the nervous system to get rid of hiccups.
3. Hold your breath for 20 to 30 seconds. Carbon dioxide build-up in the lungs helps relax the diaphragm.
4. Pull-on your tongue.
5. Have some hot chili sauce.
6. Plug your ears with fingers and hold for at least 25 to 30 seconds.
7. Put a teaspoonful of honey on the back of your tongue and have it.
8. Press the soft area behind your earlobes just below the base of the skull.
9. Take quick sips of cold water – at least 10 to 12 sips quickly in a row.
10. Gargle with ice water.
11. Suck on ice cubes for a few minutes and swallow when they shrink and become small.
12. Eat a spoonful of sugar.
13. Take a teaspoonful of vinegar.
14. Have peanut butter – a big spoonful is enough to get rid of hiccups.
15. Hold your breath and swallow three times.
16. Count your breathing – breath in slowly by counting 1 to 5 and then exhale slowly by counting 1 to 5.
17. Massage both the right and left sides of the neck.
18. Sit in a position that brings your knees close to your chest and then hold your knees with your hands. Do this for two to three minutes.
19. Lean or bend forward to compress your chest.
20. Suck a lemon wedge. This works 9 out of 10 times.

When to Seek Medical Help?

Call and seek an immediate appointment with a general physician if your hiccups persist for long and you have a fever, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath.