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A diaphragm reflex with no disease value — only if it lasts for days is a closer look worthwhile.
Also known as: hiccups
Open in the tool — with search and all the links →This compilation is for information and replaces neither medical diagnosis nor treatment. If you have symptoms, see a doctor.
Hiccups come from a sudden, involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, our main breathing muscle; the quick intake of breath is stopped by the vocal cords, producing the typical “hic” sound. In the vast majority of cases they are completely harmless and stop on their own after minutes. They are often triggered by hasty eating, fizzy or alcoholic drinks, excitement or a rapid change of temperature. There are many home remedies, which mostly work via calm, conscious breathing. Only very rarely do hiccups last a very long time — if they last longer than about two days (persistent hiccups), the cause should be calmly checked by a doctor.
Slowly drink a glass of water, briefly hold your breath, breathe calmly.
Eat more slowly, less fizzy drink/alcohol.
It usually goes away on its own — no cause for worry.
Only if it lasts very long or keeps recurring.
Breathe in deeply and hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then breathe out slowly; or drink cold water in small sips.
The diaphragm spasm runs at four to sixty twitches a minute. Ordinary hiccups last minutes to hours. From forty-eight hours they count as persistent and are investigated, from a month as intractable — then there is nearly always an irritation of the phrenic or vagus nerve behind it. All the home remedies aim at the same thing: to stimulate the vagus nerve or raise the carbon dioxide in the blood.
For ordinary hiccups no medicine is needed — they stop by themselves. With hiccups lasting beyond forty-eight hours, an irritation is looked for first, because drugs then treat only the sign. Baclofen, gabapentin and metoclopramide are used and work over days; which one fits depends on the cause. An acid blocker helps if reflux is behind it — that is more common than assumed.
A brief, involuntary spasm of the breathing muscle — usually over in minutes.
Hasty eating, fizzy drinks, alcohol, excitement, temperature change.
If hiccups last longer than ~48 hours, the cause should be checked.
An ordinary hiccup needs no values. If it lasts longer than forty-eight hours, a cause is looked for — shifted salts are among the commonest.
A strongly reduced kidney function is among the known causes of a stubborn hiccup.
Supplements the same question. Certain medicines, among them cortisone and some sedatives, also come into question as triggers.
Makes sure the muscle lets go again after tensing. A lack favours cramps, twitching and inner restlessness — and the blood value reflects the store poorly.
Sets the excitability of muscle and nerve. A low value causes weakness and cramps, a high one is dangerous for the heart rhythm — here one measures rather than guesses.
Sets off the tensing in the muscle in the first place. A low value causes tingling around the mouth and in the fingers and cramping of the hands.
With heavy sweating both are lost together. Drinking only water dilutes the sodium further — with long exertion salt belongs with it.
Almost all the known tricks — holding the breath, cold water in one go, a spoon of sugar, pulling on the ears — run along the same path: they irritate the throat or raise the carbon dioxide in the blood and thereby interrupt the reflex arc. No nutrient is needed for that, only the stimulus.
With a stubborn hiccup that lasts days they belong in the laboratory work — a lack of magnesium, potassium or sodium makes the diaphragm irritable and is one of the few reversible causes. With the ordinary hiccup after eating that is no topic; the difference is the duration.
High-dose cortisone is among the most common triggers of a stubborn hiccup — especially dexamethasone in cancer treatment. It begins hours after the dose and goes with it. Anyone who knows this does not look elsewhere.
A stretched stomach irritates the diaphragm from below — fast eating, fizzy drinks and swallowing air are the most common triggers of all. A hiccup that stays beyond 48 hours is a different matter and belongs looked at.
Eating hastily, very hot or very cold food, fizzy drinks and alcohol stretch the stomach and irritate the diaphragm. Hiccups lasting over 48 hours belong investigated.
Holding the breath or breathing into a bag raises CO2 and interrupts the reflex.
A spoon of sugar or cold water in small sips stimulates the same nerve in a more pleasant way.