Basically, a short-lasting hiccup is nothing bad and usually medically insignificant, nevertheless, the loudly audible “hiccup attacks” are usually annoying, moreover, of course, they almost always occur in the most impossible situations.
What happens during hiccups?
Hiccups, called singultus (Latin for sobbing, rattling) in medicine, are caused by involuntary, rapid contraction of the diaphragm, closing the glottis. When inhaled, the typical hiccupping sounds are made as the air sucked in bounces against the closed glottis.
Common causes of the development of hiccups
What causes hiccups varies, but there are a number of different reasons that can trigger hiccups:
- Consumption of food or drink that is too cold or too hot.
- Alcohol
- Hasty eating or drinking
- Pregnancy
- Stress
- Gastrointestinal diseases
Tips against hiccups
Tips on how to get rid of your hiccups are numerous. Most are controversial in your effect. Here is a small selection:
- With the thumbs to cover the ears and with the little fingers to cover the nose, while holding your breath.
- Sing loudly
- Drink vinegar
- Get scared
- Eat sugar
All these actions stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is part of the autonomic nervous system. Perhaps this will solve your hiccups.
If not, wait and see will help. The diaphragm usually calms down quite quickly. The best way to do this is to distract yourself. This is probably where the old custom of asking hiccup sufferers what you ate three or more days ago came from.
Where do hiccups come from?
Actually, hiccups are a relic of prenatal times. For the fetus, hiccups are a necessary reflex. It has to get used to life “outside” while still in the amniotic fluid, and does this with breathing exercises, among other things. The closed glottis prevents the inflow of amniotic fluid.
After birth, hiccups are, biologically speaking, complete nonsense. But if its occurrence nevertheless continues to accompany us, at least the frequency fades: in childhood we “hiccup” 3,000 times more than in adulthood!
