bjones
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Best Answer
At one time or another, most everyone suffers from a bout of hiccups. They can be both embarrassing and frustrating because they can happen at any time. There is no single cause for hiccups. There are about as many causes as there are cures. Everyone seems to have a different “recipe” for curing hiccups. Hiccups can be triggered by many things but how they happen is because the diaphragm, a muscle that separates our lungs from our guts and helps us breathe, becomes irritated and starts to spasm. When the diaphragm spasms so violently, it causes a flap (epiglottis) that covers the opening to our voice box (larynx) to suddenly open and close quickly. This is what causes the characteristic sound of the hiccup.
Triggers for hiccups vary from person to person and from time to time. Some common causes are:
• Excessive eating
• Carbonated drinks
• Alcohol
• Stress or excitement
Several central nervous system disorders and diseases can also cause hiccups and in such cases, home remedies may not work and a doctor may have to intervene. In any case, there is no “sure-thing” cure for hiccups. Just as triggers don’t cause hiccups every time, one type of cure may not work every time. There are so many different cures for hiccups that whole books have been written about them. Some people find one that works for them and they stick with it. Some common cures are:
• Take a deep breath and hold it in for 10 seconds.
• Sticking your fingers in your ears for 20 seconds.
• Stick out your tongue as far as you can and breathe like this until they stop.
• Sip water from a glass.
• Eat a spoonful of sugar.
• Eat a spoonful of honey.
• Have someone scare you.
The cure I use, I read in a book about witchcraft when I was 14 years old. There is nothing witchy about it, but it is kind of odd: drink a cup of water from the opposite side of the cup. It sounds impossible at first, but it is possible and it works for me every time.
 Posted 5402 day ago
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