How to Get Rid of Hiccups

Usually they are nothing to worry about, but don’t ignore persistent, painful, and chronic hiccups. Here's why you get hiccups and how to get rid of them.

Alice was hiccupping loudly after many meals. It was embarrassing, and she worried after a few weeks. Although she knew she was eating quickly, she didn’t realize that she was gulping air at the same time, hyperventilating out of anxiety. Her hiccups were, in effect, a message to slow down and practice relaxation techniques. 

What are hiccups?

Hiccups are familiar to everyone, but they’re not well understood. The “hic” sound occurs when the diaphragm muscle between your chest and abdomen contracts and your vocal cords suddenly close. People can hiccup anywhere from four to 60 times in a minute.   

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Why causes hiccups?

Anyone can get a case of hiccups after overeating, especially if the food is spicy or very hot or cold, while chewing gum, or if the temperature of the air changes suddenly. They might come when you’re chugging carbonated drinks or alcohol, or, like Alice, you might be gulping air when you eat. 

Several little-known reasons may cause frequent hiccup attacks. You may have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Normally a muscle at the base of your esophagus, a channel that connects your throat and stomach, controls when food flows down. If it is weak or relaxes at the wrong moment, the food and acid in your stomach may flow backwards into your esophagus. Other signs of GERD are heartburn, a persistent cough or sore or irritated throat, or morning hoarseness. 

How to get rid of hiccups

Over-the-counter remedies to reduce gas can help temporarily, but they aren’t a solution for GERD. Strategies include:

• Lose weight.
• Eat your meals at least three hours before you lie down.
• Avoid foods that trigger your hiccups, often onions, chocolate, or anything fatty.
• Try to hold your breath or drink water fast.
• Suck up water through a straw while plugging your ears with your fingers.
• Bite into a piece of lemon.
• Drink lemon-flavored water. 

If OTC or home remedies don’t work, see a doctor. For persistent cases, the best line of defense might be one of two drugs:

• Baclofen, an anti-spasm and muscle relaxant
• Gabapentin, which, depending on the brand, has been used to treat nerve pain, restless leg syndrome, and seizures

If you have chronic hiccups

Besides GERD, they may be a sign of a tumor or kidney disease. Some medications that cause acid reflux, including common anti-anxiety benzodiazepines, can lead to hiccups.  

In women, hiccups may be an early sign of a stroke. If a woman who is hiccupping also complains of chest pain and feeling numb, call 911, advises Anil Minocha, MD, author of “Dr. M’s Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health.” 

If there's no apparent reason for your frequent hiccups or long attacks, your doctor may order blood tests to find signs of infection, diabetes, or kidney disease.

You may have liver function tests, a chest image or scan, or an endoscopy or bronchoscopy, when a doctor looks through a scope at your esophagus, windpipe, stomach, intestines, or lungs and airways. 

Sometimes your doctor may find no cause, but your hiccups persist. An Iowa farmer named Charles Osborne hiccupped for nearly 70 years, probably because of a brain injury that damaged a part of his brain that inhibits the hiccup response.

None of the usual home remedies worked. A well-intentioned friend once shot off two barrels of a shotgun right behind him. "It scared me some," Osborne told People magazine, "but it didn't scare the hiccups out of me."

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