Dr. Carm's Medical Page: Guest Post by Dr. Bill: Hiccups

Jul 11, 2012

Guest Post by Dr. Bill: Hiccups

Dr. Carm would like to welcome a guest poster, Dr. Bill. [Holds up "applause" sign]

Dr. Bill is not a certified doctor but has medical knowledge from working in a pharmacy. He also has an array of experience with journalism. Today he is going to discuss his medical smarts about hiccups.

Dr. Bill, if you please....

Hiccups

    The stereotyped drunk hiccupping on a cartoon is not that far off from the truth. Hiccups can be triggered by drinking too much alcohol, as well as eating too much or eating spicy dry foods, drinking carbonated beverages, becoming too excited or laughing too hard, and reacting to stress or sudden temperature changes.

    Technically speaking a hiccup is simply an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, the muscle tissue that allows us to breathe. When the diaphragm contracts, it creates a suction to pull air into the lungs and vice versa, when it expands it pushes air out of the lungs to allow you to exhale. The “hic” sound of a hiccup is simply a sudden rush of air being pulled into your lungs and the rapid closure of your vocal cords to allow this to happen. The sudden contraction of the diaphragm also causes that jerky movement you make when having hiccups.

    Usually hiccups last only a few minutes. The longest lasting hiccup endured by a person was by Charles Osborne for 69 years and five months. Don’t try to beat the world record; hiccups lasting longer that 48 hours need to be addressed by a doctor. Long term hiccups could be a sign of a brain tumor, kidney failure, diabetes, pneumonia, inner ear problems of the vagus nerve which can cause cardiac problems, stroke, multiple sclerosis and meningitis. After ruling out these issue, long term hiccup treatment would include Chlorpromazine, Metoclopramide, or Baclofen. If these drug treatments do not work, surgery to block the phrenic nerve or the use of electric stimulation of the vagus nerve can be used.

    Fortunately, most hiccups go away on their own, or with a little help of home remedies. The moment a hiccup occurs most people immediate hold their breath until the hiccups stops. Rarely does this remedy work. The thought here is to prevent the diaphragm from contracting. Others insist on drinking large amounts of water. I find this method worse than the last and poses the problem of hiccupping water into the nose.

    There are five home remedies that I have found to work the best:

    1. Put a spoonful of sugar on your tongue and let it slowly dissolve

    2. Put a spoonful of peanut butter on the roof of your mouth

    3. Sit in a chair, put your head between your knees and look up to the ceiling

    4. Sing as loud as you can tolerate yourself

    5. Laugh loudly

Although these methods will make you look like a lunatic, they seem to work well. Mainly they work by forcing you to unconsciously control your breathing.

    Q. Are hiccups on the same order as a burp?
    A. No. A hiccup is caused by a muscle spasm, a burp is caused by gas released from the stomach.

    Q. Are hiccups caused by people talking about you behind your back?
    A. No, although when they see you sitting with your head between your knees looking up to the ceiling, they may start talking about you!

Q. Was this article helpful?
A. I hope so….

Disclaimer
This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any illnesses. Please seek medical attention by a certified physician for any legitimate concerns

Dr. Carm would like to thank Dr. Bill for his posting and giving her a day off to relax.