Why Do People Hiccup?

Hiccups are sudden, involuntary contractions of the muscle at the base of the lungs (the diaphragm). As the muscle quickly contracts, air is forced into your throat. The air hits your voice box and can make your vocal cords suddenly close, causing a repeated and distinct “hic” sound. 

Hiccups are a normal and common bodily reflex. People of all ages get them. Even babies inside the womb get hiccups.

You can hiccup anywhere from four to 60 times per minute. While most hiccups resolve on their own in a few minutes, some cases of hiccups can last a few hours or up to two days. It is also possible for hiccups to persist for longer, lasting anywhere from over two days to over a month. Hiccups that last for more than two days are known as chronic, or persistent, hiccups while hiccups that last for over a month are known as intractable hiccups.

What Can Trigger Hiccups?

The exact trigger for why someone starts hiccuping is often unknown. Some of the more common reasons for hiccups include:

• Eating food too quickly
• Eating a large meal or eating too much food at once 
• Consuming hot or spicy foods and liquids 
• Drinking alcohol or carbonated beverages
• Feeling excited or nervous
• Being exposed to harmful fumes
• Experiencing stress
• Experiencing bloating or stomach gas
• Having high blood sugar
• Having low levels of certain electrolytes such as calcium, potassium, and sodium
• Experiencing a change in temperature

There have been more than 100 documented causes of hiccups that last for more than 48 hours. Some of the more frequent causes of chronic hiccups include: 

• Diseases that affect the stomach and esophagus 
• Irritation of the vagus and phrenic nerve caused by conditions like laryngitis, a neck cyst, or tumors
• Thoracic disorders, such as enlarged lymph nodes or pneumonia
• Cardiovascular disorders
• Complications following certain types of surgery, such as abdominal surgery
• Toxic-metabolic conditions, such as alcoholism, influenza, or tuberculosis
• Psychogenic disorders, like. anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, or stress
• Certain types of drugs, including chemotherapy drugs, steroids, and antibiotics
• Certain types of cancer 
• Nerve or brain injuries

A healthcare provider can try to determine what exactly is causing your chronic hiccups in hopes that you get relief.

Are Hiccups Healthy?

Regular hiccups are a normal bodily reflex that everyone experiences multiple times in their life. They are not harmful and go away in a short amount of time.

Chronic hiccups are rare but can interfere with a person’s ability to eat, drink, sleep, talk, and socialize. If chronic hiccups are left untreated, complications may include weight loss, fatigue, insomnia, malnutrition, anxiety, and depression. 

The symptoms of chronic hiccups can appear at any age and could signal an underlying medical condition that needs treatment. For instance, chronic hiccups have a higher incidence among people with disorders like Parkinson’s disease, advanced cancer, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

How Do You Stop Hiccups?

Regular, short-term hiccups can be annoying and uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are ways to get relief. To get rid of regular hiccups, there are a few maneuvers you can try. While more research is needed on why these methods might work, some of these maneuvers are thought to increase the level of carbon dioxide in your lungs or target activity in certain nerves thought to trigger these contractions, helping to stop the reflex. Other popular methods are anecdotal in their success in stopping hiccups and require further study.

To get rid of regular hiccups, try the following methods: 

• Drink a glass of cold water.
• Breathe repeatedly into a paper bag. 
• Hold your breath. 
• Gargle with ice water.
• Swallow 1 teaspoon of sugar.
• Sip on vinegar. 
• Pull gently on your tongue.
• Try the Valsalva maneuver (close your mouth and pinch your nose while bearing down as if you are having a bowel movement).

To get rid of chronic hiccups, you will need to schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider. They can try to diagnose the underlying cause. If necessary, the condition can be treated with medicine, surgery, or a medical procedure.

Common drugs used to treat chronic or intractable hiccups include Reglan (metoclopramide), Lioresal (baclofen), and Gralise (gabapentin). There are also other types of drugs or intravenous medications that your provider may use to treat the hiccups.

Medical procedures to treat chronic hiccups include stomach pumping and massage of the carotid sinus (the nerve endings situated next to the carotid arteries in the neck). 

If that doesn’t work, healthcare providers may perform a procedure called nasogastric intubation, where a tube is inserted into the stomach.

In rare cases, a phrenic nerve block can be injected to control the diaphragm and stop the hiccups. As a phrenic nerve block is more high-risk than other hiccup treatments, this is only performed if other treatment methods have failed.

When to Contact a Healthcare Provider

For regular hiccups, medical care is not required. But if your hiccups do not stop within 48 hours, contact a healthcare provider. This might indicate chronic hiccups, the underlying cause which may need treatment.

You should especially seek medical guidance if hiccups are causing breathing or gastrointestinal problems or affecting your ability to eat or sleep normally.

At your appointment, the provider may assess your symptoms and medical history and perform a physical evaluation. If necessary, they may order additional tests to find the exact cause. These types of tests may include blood tests or a chest X-ray. 

It is important to seek prompt treatment for chronic hiccups to prevent complications from the hiccupping or the underlying cause.

A Quick Review

Hiccups are common, involuntary contractions of the diaphragm. The contractions force air into your throat, causing your vocal cords to suddenly close. This causes a repeated “hic” sound that can be mildly uncomfortable. While hiccups may be annoying, they are a harmless and normal bodily reflex that everyone experiences throughout their life. 

From eating hot and spicy foods to getting excited, the causes of regular hiccups vary widely. Chronic hiccups are due to a number of medical conditions, including GERD and pneumonia. 

Most hiccups will go away on their own in a few minutes. But if the hiccups persist for more than 48 hours, they are considered chronic and require medical diagnosis for proper treatment.