A hiccup is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm. The sudden rush of air into the lungs causes the glottis to close, creating the "hic" noise. It is sometimes written as hiccough, though this spelling is becoming archaic.

The causes of hiccups are unknown, but they can sometimes be brought on by eating quickly, taking a cold drink while eating a hot meal, eating very hot or spicy food, laughing vigorously or coughing.

Home remedies

Many of the following remedies have become part of common belief and have no scientific basis for the way they work.

• Being distracted from your hiccup, such as by being startled or asked a perplexing question.
• Breathing into a paper bag.
• Eating peanut butter.
• Concentrating hard on your hiccup.
• Covering your ears with your thumbs, closing your nose with your index fingers, and drinking a glass of water with your remaining fingers.
• Drinking a glass of water upside-down.
• Drinking a glass of water while having someone press their palms against your ears.
• Drinking a glass-worth of a carbonated beverage with salt in it (to quickly balance out the potassium-sodium levels in the nervous system).
• Eating a tablespoon of sugar or honey.
• Eat a teaspoon of lingonberry jam.
• Eating food.
• Gulping down a glass of water while holding your breath.
• Holding your breath while optionally squeezing your stomach.
• Apply pressure to the upper sternum, optionally while drinking water.
• Tilting your head back, extending your right arm out, and flexing it at the elbow repeatedly. This flexes muscles around the throat.
• Urinating whilst drinking a glass of water.
• Drinking a glass of water in several intervals.
• Breathing deeply through the nose, then exhaling slowly through the mouth until hiccups cease.
• Drinking vinegar.

Longest attack of hiccups

Charles Osborne (1894–1991) of Anthon, Iowa, USA, started hiccupping in 1922 while attempting to weigh a hog before slaughtering it. He was unable to find a cure, and continued hiccupping until February 1990, a total of 68 years.

External links

• Hiccups (WebMD)
• Cures for Hiccups
• Guinness World Record- Longest Hiccup