The diaphragm at the base of your chest is usually helpful, pushing the lungs or letting them expand as you breathe. For reasons that are not always obvious, it sometimes betrays your body and spasms jerkily, closing the back of your throat and unleashing a characteristic -hic- sound. No one enjoys this sensation — except, apparently, you.
Steps
Getting Hiccups from Eating or Drinking
- Drink something fizzy. Sparkling water, soda, and other carbonated beverages can all cause hiccups.[1] Drinking quickly might increase the odds of "success," if you can stand the painful prickling sensation.
- Eat spicy food. Eating food spicier than you're used to might irritate the nerves around your throat and stomach, which can cause hiccups.[2] Try two or three spoonfuls of bland food covered in hot sauce, then cross your fingers. Giving yourself an upset stomach by overdoing this might also lead to hiccups, but the regret is probably not worth the small chance of success.
- Drink hot and cold beverages in the same sitting. Drink a hot drink, then follow it immediately with an icy one. Sudden temperature changes in the stomach sometimes cause hiccups.[3] This method might also work with hot and cold foods eaten in rapid succession.
- Permanent tooth damage is a possibility with this method, as the enamel on your tooth can fracture. Do not make a habit of this activity, and never try it if you have porcelain tooth implants, or if your teeth feel painful or sensitive to heat or cold.[4]
Trying Other Methods
- Swallow a large mouthful of air. Suck in a mouthful of air, close your mouth, and swallow. This is one of the only methods successfully used by a research team, who believe that hiccups might be a reaction designed to dislodge large pieces of food from the esophagus.[5]
- You could instead try chewing and swallowing a moderately large mouthful of bread. Trying this with other foods, especially un-chewed foods, is not recommended, due to the risk of choking.
- Trying this too many times is likely to lead to an unpleasant, bloated sensation.
- Force yourself to burp. If you know how to burp on command, try this repeatedly until a hiccuping fit starts. If you can't, try sucking in air rapidly to the back of your throat. Pay attention to your glottis, or flap at the back of your throat, closing and reopening again rapidly.[6] This is the motion that occurs when you hiccup, so stimulating it intentionally may trigger the automatic sensation.
- Take a shower with abrupt temperature changes. Sudden temperature changes may stimulate certain nerves that can trigger a hiccuping session. If you're desperate for a chance at a hiccuping fit, jump in a cold shower, then switch to warm water after ten seconds.
- If the temperature inside and outside is significantly different, try walking outside and inside repeatedly.
- Temperature changes can also cause hives or swollen, itchy skin.
- Trigger sudden emotions. Nervousness and excitement are likely the emotions most likely to trigger hiccups.[7] Still, this is probably the least reliable method, as most people hiccup only occasionally despite daily mood shifts. Still, if there is a movie, video game, sport, or other activity that makes you excited, scared, or nervous, have a go at it right after trying one of the other methods.
Tips
- If you're overcome with success and regret, try these hiccup cures.
Warnings
- Many of these methods cause unpleasant sensations if attempted repeatedly. You may not wish to try them if you have an upset stomach, suffer from acid reflux, or feel ill.
Related wikiHows
Sources and Citations
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