At rest, the human diaphragm normally lowers and rises when inhaling and exhaling. When you hiccup, then under the influence of various factors, it is sharply reduced, which leads to the appearance of a characteristic intermittent sound. Most often, such attacks last no more than 10 minutes, but during this time they manage to get bored. To avoid this, read the tips in this article.
Causes of Hiccups
Hiccup is pathological and physiological. Depending on this, the reasons are different.
Physiological:
- Hypothermia, as a result of which the muscles of the body cramp, shortens the diaphragm.
- Binge eating. When the stomach is overcrowded, the diaphragm can not normally descend during exhalation, resulting in a hiccup. In addition, the reason may be the consumption of large quantities of bread, chips and other dry foods.
- Frequent drinking, severe poisoning.
- When the stomach is full of air. This often happens when drinking soda or laughing, with the result that the diaphragm perceives the stomach as an irritant.
- Strong fright leads to the tension of all muscles, including the diaphragm.
Speaking about this type of hiccups, it is at once to say that absolutely every person faces it, it will not cause any harm.
But if the contraction of the diaphragm continues for two days, we can talk about the pathological form, the causes of which are usually:
meningitis;- certain infectious diseases, such as rubella or flu;
- TBI;
- some diseases of the central nervous system;
- diabetes;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
meningitis;If hiccups torment you for a very long time, cause pain, you should consult a doctor who will diagnose, identify the cause and prescribe treatment.
Quick ways to get rid
If a person is healthy, the seizures should automatically stop after 15 minutes. But to reduce the time, you can use several tricks.
For example, the most famous way is to simply drink water in small sips (near a glass). When drinking, it is advisable to lean forward and hold your breath. This method is very effective if the attacks began due to overeating dry food stuck in the throat. The liquid will wash away the crumbs, this will eliminate the irritants of the diaphragm.
The second way is to inhale deeply and do not breathe for about 10 seconds. During this time, the diaphragm will calm down. You can put a sweet or, on the contrary, sour candy, a slice of lemon under the tongue. Such sharp sensations affect the diaphragm soothingly.
If the hiccups started due to hypothermia, you just need to warm up, drink warm milk. You can make a "birch". Such an exercise soothes raging diaphragm.
Another option is to get scared, for which you just need to ask your friends to scare you. But with this method one should be careful, because if the reason is in a raging nervous system, fright will only worsen the situation.
There are two other very effective options:
- Close your eyes, press on the eyelids with your fingers, sit for 1-3 minutes.
- If there is a paper bag at hand, breathe into it - carbon dioxide will enter the bloodstream, causing the hiccup to stop.
It is believed that the above methods of getting rid of attacks will be as effective as possible if you hiccupped less than five times.
How to get rid of hiccups after taking alcohol
Hiccups after drinking alcohol is often the longest and most unpleasant. The reason for it lies in the intoxication of the body, the more alcohol goes out quite a long time. For example, 100 ml of vodka "leaves" the body only after 4 hours, 100 ml of brandy - within 5 hours. If the hiccups become unbearable, you need to clean the body.
Moreover, in case of severe poisoning, these procedures are carried out under the supervision of physicians.
If you decide to clean the body yourself, then the simplest option is to simply induce vomiting. To do this, drink 200 ml of water in big gulps and then press on the root of the tongue. To enhance the effect, add 5 crushed tablets of activated carbon or a little potassium permanganate to the water.
When a person systematically drinks alcoholic beverages and often experiences bouts of hiccups, this may indicate serious liver diseases, because it is this organ that takes the blow. Under the influence of toxins, its size increases, which causes hiccups. Also, the problem may be in irritation of the central nervous system, since alcohol affects those areas that are responsible for reducing the diaphragm. In this case, you just need to calm the nervous system, sleep copes well with this.
Helping a child - effective ways
Most often in children such a problem is associated with hypothermia, the use of dry foods, and nervous excitement. And in children, the discomfort of hiccups is very strong, because parents should know how to remove seizures.
For example, if hiccups continue in a child for less than an hour, and seizures are very rare, you should not worry.
But if the baby hiccups all the time, and it lasts all for quite a long time, it is impossible to do without visiting the doctor and examinations, since perhaps the reason is the presence of parasites.
A great way to get rid of the problem is to take deep breaths and inhale, and after each breath you need the baby to hold the breath for 20 seconds.
This will calm the baby, his nervous system, and normalize the diaphragm. Most of the time, just a few minutes is enough for the hiccups to recede. Also suitable is the already known method with water, a slice of lemon.
If the reason is overexcitement, then you just need to distract the child, for example, play with him or read a book.
What if a newborn hiccups?
Any mother knows that even an unborn child is faced with such a problem - during pregnancy a woman feels a slight jolt. Most often, as noted by doctors, this is due to the consumption of sugary foods. But there is also a theory that during hiccups the baby prepares for independent breathing. On average, seizures can last from two to thirty minutes. If the problem has caught up with you at night, try to just roll over.
If the newborn hiccups (and this happens more often in babies than in adults), then there are also several reasons - only eliminating them will save the child from unpleasant sensations. For example, you should first check whether the baby is cold - cool skin on elbows, knees, nose will tell you about hypothermia. You just need to cover the child.
If hiccups are a consequence of bloating, you just need to lift the newborn upright and hold for 1-3 minutes, stroking the back. During this time, excess air and food will come out of it, causing the hiccup to stop. And in order not to face the problem, correctly attach the baby to the breast - he must grab the nipple with the areola.
If the cause of hiccups is a tummy swelling, lift the baby vertically and, while stroking the back, hold it in this position for a couple of minutes. Excess air and milk in the baby’s stomach will be out soon, the hiccups will stop. If the baby eats from the bottle, the correct nipple is important. If the hole in it is too small, then it swallows a lot of excess air, and if it is too large, it overeats, which also causes hiccups.
Not all methods that are acceptable for adults are suitable for a child. For example, you do not need to use the method with water, because the stomach of newborns hardly cope with other products besides milk or infant formula. In this case, it is better to attach the baby to the breast, since the sucking movements familiar to the child will calm the diaphragm.
Will medications help?
Reception of medicines is required only when you are dealing with a pathological view. Recall that in this case, the problem with hiccuping lasts a fairly long time, accompanied by pain and burning.
Pharmacies sell medicines that can help you, for example, Reglan, drugs taken during epilepsy. Any of them should be consumed only after consulting a doctor, since such funds are prescribed only on the basis of the results obtained after passing the tests.
And to make it easier for the doctor to determine the cause of the problem, try to describe in more detail the accompanying symptoms, such as heartburn, dizziness, weakness in the body.
As you can see, hiccups are not always the enemy for your body, because in some cases it helps to remove excess air. But with long-term attacks, hiccups can cause a lot of inconvenience, especially if it happens at a business meeting or in a crowded place. We hope our advice will help you overcome it!
