Why Do We Get Hiccups? Causes, Remedies, and When to Worry

We’ve all been there, in the mid-sentence or mid-bite, and suddenly: hic, hic, hiccups! Isn’t it?

Hiccups often catch us by surprise, hang around just long enough to draw the attention of everyone around us(and they start offering the remedies they know!), and then vanish as mysteriously as they came. But have you ever wondered what’s really going on inside your body when you hiccup? I did! So, I searched for the answer and I am sharing the same with you!

First, let us see what makes you get a hiccup.

Hiccups happen when your diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle below your lungs that helps you breathe, suddenly contracts involuntarily. This quick cramp causes you to suck in air suddenly, and almost instantly, your vocal cords close down. That’s what creates the distinctive “hic” sound, which is an automatic response and a strange one.

You might be interested in knowing why we get hiccups. Mostly,the triggers are small everyday things, such as:

• Eating too quickly or overeating
• Swallowing air while drinking carbonated beverages
• Sudden changes in temperature, like hot soup followed by cold water
• Spicy or acidic foods that irritate your diaphragm
• Laughing too hard, feeling anxious, or even being surprised/shocked
• Drinking alcohol, which relaxes the muscles and irritates the esophagus

In short, we can understand, anything that irritates the diaphragm or the nerves controlling it can trigger a hiccup attack.

One of my friends got continuous hiccups, not for 10 minutes, not for one hour. It lasted for days together. First she thought it was just a normal hiccup and took water and all the known remedies for that. We were making fun of her for making rhythmic sounds periodically every few seconds. But, as it continued for two days, we took her to our doctor and she was diagnosed to have some nerve irritation. She was under treatment for nearly a month!  

Yes, most hiccups last only a few minutes and are completely harmless. But if yours lasts more than 48 hours, or keeps coming back frequently …it could be a sign of something deeper. 

Persistent hiccups may be linked to Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) or Nerve irritation (like the vagus or phrenic nerves) or Side effects of certain medications or Metabolic issues or Central nervous system disorders. In rare cases, hiccups can indicate underlying health problems — so if they don’t go away, talk to a doctor.

These are some popular tricks to stop hiccups that work for many(but, we cannot guarantee!):

• Drink a glass of cold/normal water slowly
• Suck on a lemon or a teaspoon of sugar
• Hold your breath and swallow three times
• Breathe into a paper bag (carefully: Never use a plastic bag—only paper! Don’t breathe into a paper bag for more than 1 minute at a time.)
• Gargle with ice water

These remedies stimulate the vagus nerve or reset your breathing rhythm, mostly just enough to stop the hiccup reflex.