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Hiccups occur when we eat too much, too fast, too spicy … but it can also be a sign of peritonitis, gastric ulcer, acid reflux, or other serious health problems. So, if the hiccups are bothering you regularly or for several hours, go to your doctor and have them look for the cause.
The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. When we inhale, it contracts and lowers. When exhaling, the diaphragm relaxes and rises. The work of the diaphragm is controlled by a highly branched diaphragmatic nerve that starts around the neck. It is the longest paired nerve, reaching the liver, pleura, gallbladder and pericardium. If any of its endings become irritated, the diaphragm begins to move strongly, irregularly, and spasmodically – a symptom of which is the hiccups. The sound, sometimes very loud, along with a sudden twitch of the whole body, is the result of the sudden closure of the glottis, i.e. one of the laryngeal cartilages. The hiccups can also irritate other nerves, such as the vagus and sympathetic nerves.
The causes of the hiccups
Most often, hiccups are simply the result of not being too discreetly. Eating without drinking, gulping down too many bites, in a hurry (we swallow a lot of air then!), Overeating. Food that is too cold, too hot or too spicy are also risk factors. The word drunken hiccups does not elegantly explain that this ailment is especially common after drinking alcohol. It irritates the nerve endings and relaxes the muscles. Carbonated drinks also work in a similar way.
– If someone is nervous, worries about something, suffers from some phobia, compulsion or lives in constant tension, the risk of hiccups in the most unexpected moments increases even threefold – says gastrologist Ulrika Tesmer-Mazurek. – Teenagers in particular often suffer from bouts of hiccups in nervous situations, up to 20-30 times a day. Most of them just grow out of it.
Usually, when visiting a doctor, stress is the first suspect of causing hiccups. Then, of course, it is necessary to deal with the treatment of the cause, i.e. neurotic disorders, and not the symptom of uncontrolled diaphragm movements causing hiccups.
“For many people, it is enough to administer herbs such as lemon balm to stop hiccups or appear much less frequently,” says Tesmer-Mazurek. – Your doctor may also give you a prescription for sedatives or spasms. However, it must be remembered that this does not eliminate the source of the problem. We should ask ourselves why we are so nervous and what we can do about it. Maybe it is worth talking to a psychotherapist?
You can consult a psychotherapist via the halodoctor.pl portal without leaving your home.
Hiccups as a symptom of the disease
However, if the herbs are not helping and the hiccups occur regularly, at least several times a week, or the attacks last longer than 5-7 minutes, it is worth going to the doctor. He or she will probably recommend a chest X-ray and an abdominal ultrasound. Persistent hiccups can be symptoms of a very serious medical condition. The most common gastroesophageal reflux, which irritates the nerves in the diaphragm area. Hiccups may also indicate the presence of a stomach ulcer or so-called goiter, or enlargement of the thyroid gland. It also occurs when the blood urea concentration is too high. Urea strongly irritates the diaphragmatic nerves, and its excess usually indicates impaired excretory functions of the kidneys.
Hiccups can also be the first sign that something is wrong with your lungs, so don’t be surprised if your doctor directs you to a chest X-ray. We may have pneumonia and do not know it, as it can be almost asymptomatic.
The list of diseases that can manifest as hiccups includes over a hundred items. There are, among others tumors of the brain, liver, stomach, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes mellitus, parasites nesting in the ear, esophageal candidiasis, pharyngitis and laryngitis, appendicitis. If the cause of the hiccups is still unknown, it is worth going to the ENT doctor for ear rinsing: sometimes hiccups are caused by irritation of the eardrum, by lint, an insect or other foreign body that has fallen into the ear.
– It happens that hiccups save the life of someone who does not know that they have an abdominal injury, a broken rib, etc. – says Tesmer-Mazurek. – After the fall, impact, it seems to us that nothing happened. There are no bruises, no injuries, not even severe pain. Only this persistent hiccup that indicates irritation of nerve endings as a result of trauma. It does not pass, so we go to the doctor, and we end up in the hospital in amazement.
Are you seeing disturbing symptoms? Analyze them yourself in the medical questionnaire and decide whether to go to the doctor.
Home remedies for hiccups
Do you have hiccups? Hold your air. This method is already known to preschoolers. And it is the effectiveness of this method, as the only one, that has been scientifically proven. By holding our breath, we increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood. You can achieve this effect even faster by taking 2-3 (no more!) Inhalations and exhalations into a paper bag. Another grandmother’s way of scaring the person who is hiccuping can also instantly increase CO levels2 in the body. Frightened, we hold our air. Additionally, we tighten our muscles and then relax them; this also applies to the diaphragm. Other home remedies, such as sucking on an ice cube or eating a teaspoon of honey, peanut butter, or sugar, are often effective for minor attacks as well – they simply work by engaging the body with some kind of absorbing activity, such as swallowing honey or sugar that clogs the throat. , or heating an ice cube lying on the tongue. In this situation, the rhythm of breathing changes, which helps to calm the diaphragm.
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It is also good to drink water in small sips, rhythmically, so that the work of the diaphragm returns to normal. The vagus nerve leading to the diaphragm can also be soothed by sticking your fingers over your ears for half a minute. And the larynx and trachea – opening its mouth wide and sticking out the tongue. Hiccups aren’t dangerous in themselves. In debilitated, elderly and sick people, it puts a significant strain on the circulatory system. It also intensifies ailments in diseases affecting the abdominal cavity and the respiratory system. So if the cause of persistent hiccups cannot be determined, and home remedies do not help, the doctor may prescribe strong drugs, neuroleptics, such as chlorpromazine or haloperidol. They are given to patients with schizophrenia and delusional syndromes, but – incl. by acting on the hiccup reflex in the brain – they are very effective in treating hiccups. If this does not help, and the hiccups are life-threatening (e.g. in a very serious heart disease), the doctor may cut the phrenic nerve. However, this procedure is only performed in exceptional cases.
Babies learn to suckle gradually – and gradually hiccups less and less often. Also because they swallow less and less air with meals, irritating the nerve endings.
However, if your baby’s hiccups are very tiring, last longer than a few minutes, and come back regularly after your toddler is 6 weeks old, it is a good idea to consult a pediatrician who will check your baby for reflux or other digestive problems.
Text: Liliana Fabisińska
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