Hiccups – Causes and Treatment
Hiccups are also called hiccoughs. They are repeated spasms of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a big flat muscle that divides your chest from your abdomen (belly). Most hiccups last less than an hour and are not serious. Sometimes hiccups can last hours to days and keep coming back. These hiccups may be caused by a medical problem. If your hiccups do not go away in 48 hours or they come back often, call your caregiver.
It is thought that a number of specific nerves in the spinal cord at the back of the neck control hiccups. When something triggers these nerves - eating too quickly, for example - a signal is sent to the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm. The diaphragm signals back to the hiccup center and hiccups begin. Within a split second, a structure called the glottis closes off the windpipe, producing the characteristic sound of a hiccup.
Causes
Many conditions are associated with hiccups, but none has been shown to be the cause of hiccups. If you eat too fast, you can swallow air along with your food and end up with a case of the hiccups.Any other practices that might irritate the diaphragm such as eating too much (especially fatty foods) or drinking too much (drunk people hiccup) can make you prone to having hiccups.
Some of the causes of hiccups are as follows. Overstretching the neck, Laryngitis, Heartburn, Irritation of the eardrum, General anesthesia, Surgery, Bloating, Tumor, Infection, Diabetes, Drinking excessive alcohol, Hot and spicy food, Smoking, Eating fast.
Herbal Remedies
Ask the affected person to sit quietly and hold his/her breath or give him/her something to drink.If this is unsuccessful, place a paper bag (not a plastic bag) over the patient’s mouth and nose, and ask the person to breathe in and out.If hiccups persist for more than a few hours, seek medical aid or psychotherapy. Kulatha in the form of a soup or dal is very useful for hiccups.
Everyone has a pet remedy for hiccups. A few tactics do make sense and may be based on physiology as well as folklore. One technique is to increase carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which may decrease the sensitivity of the vagus nerve in the brain. That nerve, one of the longest in the body, sends branches to many muscle groups, including those in the diaphragm.
Numerous home remedies for hiccups exist. The reason that these remedies are thought to work is that carbon dioxide build-up in the blood will stop hiccups, which is what happens when you hold your breath. If the vagus nerve that runs from the brain to the stomach is stimulated, hiccups can also be alleviated (this is what is happening when you drink water or pull on your tongue).
Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) is usually the first prescription medication tried for hiccups, although drugs such as baclofen (Lioresal) and medications for convulsions such as phenytoin (Dilantin) have also been successful. Surgery to disable the phrenic nerve (the nerve that controls the diaphragm) is often the treatment of last resort.
