Hiccups when smoking
Cigarette smoke is also a possible cause of hiccups. When smoking, the smoke reaches the lungs through inhalation and simultaneously comes into contact with the mucous membrane of the esophagus. Like alcohol, nicotine smoke is also a cell poison.
When smoking, the mucous membranes of the esophagus and the windpipe are irritated, which can lead to hiccups as well as coughing. It is possible that too much air is swallowed when smoking. The increased air swallowing leads to an over-inflation of the stomach, which in turn directly irritates the phrenic nerve phrenic nerve and can thus lead to hiccups. If smoking has led to the development of lung cancer, it is also possible that direct contact with the phrenic nerve may have occurred due to the increase in size and possible spread of the tumor. By displacing and infiltrating the nerve through the tumor, this stimulus can also contribute to the development of hiccups.
Summary
Hiccups, also known as singultus, are usually sudden rhythmic contractions of the diaphragm followed by a squeezing of the air against the closed glottis, which leads to the typical hiccup sound. During hiccups, the diaphragm, which plays the most important role in the respiratory process, becomes more active and uncontrolled (the contraction of the diaphragm expands the lungs, and a negative pressure causes the necessary air to enter the lungs. The most common cause of hiccups is excessive filling of the stomach with air.
Hurried eating can cause too much air to enter the stomach and thus irritate the diaphragm. Cold water or too spicy food is also blamed for a sudden hiccup. The diaphragm is supplied by the N. Phrenicus and the N. Vagus.
Irritation of these nerves can also lead to sudden hiccups. Also vegetative situations, such as excitement or shock, can lead to hiccups that soon reoccur. In addition to these numerous rather harmless causes, there are also serious illnesses, such as tumor diseases, which lead to pressure on the diaphragm or the corresponding nerves and can thus trigger hiccups, which, however, usually become chronic.
Also adhesions of structures close to the diaphragm or the nerves from previous operations can lead to hiccups. In most cases, therapy for simple hiccups is not necessary, as they disappear after a few minutes or hours. Numerous home remedies exist and range from 30 seconds of air retention to autogenic training and drinking cold water.
For chronic hiccups, benzodiazepine-type or neurolptic-type drugs can be administered.In rare cases of hiccups lasting several weeks or months, in addition to the elimination of the triggering basic disease, the destruction of the affected phrenic nerve must also be considered. The breathing activity would then be taken over by the opposite nerve. However, due to the numerous risks of the procedure, surgical ligation of the phrenic nerve represents the very last treatment option. Further interesting information from this area: An overview of all previously published topics from this area can be found under Anatomy A-Z
- Causes of hiccups
- What to do in case of hiccups
- Breathing
- Pulmonary function test
- Diaphragm
- Chest
- Benzodiazepine