How do I stop hiccups?
Most people get hiccups occasionally. They only last a few minutes, and will go away.
But if they do not, these are 5 ways of stopping hiccups:
- Breathe into a paper bag (do not put it over your head)
- Pull your knees up to your chest and lean forward
- Sip ice-cold water
- Swallow some granulated sugar, or bite on a lemon or taste vinegar
- Hold your breath for a short time.
You should wait for them to go away, or treat them yourself – without seeing a GP.
What are hiccups?
Hiccups are involuntary – i.e ones that just happen, and you do not control or initiate – contractions of the diaphragm. This is the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen and plays an important role in breathing. Each contraction is followed by a sudden closure of your vocal cords, which produces the characteristic ‘hic’ sound.
What causes hiccups?
It is normally nothing serious, i.e. there is no underlying medical cause. For example, fizzy drinks, eating a large meal or swallowing too much air, can do it. Or they just happen.
Rarely there can be an underlying medical cause. There are more than 100 known medical causes. Some of them are shown in this diagram.
You should only contact your GP or NHS111 about hiccups if they go on for over 48 hours.
Medical treatment of hiccups
This is rarely needed. If there is an underlying medical cause, the treatment of hiccups is to get rid of that cause. If no cause can be found, the most commonly prescribed medicine for prolonged hiccups is chlorpromazine. It can be used either in tablet form or in severe cases, intravenously.
Summary
How do I stop hiccups? Wait a bit. By the time you have read this, they will have probably gone!
Other resources
This is good information from the NHS website.
