How to get rid of hiccups fast and immediately? In many case people believe that having a hiccup simply is a sign that somewhere someone is thinking of you. We know that hiccups are pretty bad, hence it cannot be induced by a friend. If your hiccups are for short times then they are not something to worry about. But, if your hiccup episodes occur frequently then it is time that you visited the doctor. Such episodes could mean that there is something more adversely wrong within your body and it is time that you took care of it. There are many tips and remedies that can easily help to get rid of hiccups. This is the article, where you get the best and the easiest tips to stop hiccups.
What Causes Hiccups?
If you believe in the old tales, then you will have to believe that hiccups are caused by your friend or relative. Since we are a lot more educated than that, we will settle for the more scientific explanation. Hiccups are caused by irritation in the esophagus. This irritation could be caused by something as simple as spicy food. It could also be caused by a bacteria. Upon eating very spicy food, you will have a bout of tremendous hiccups. Usually you can take care of this by easing the irritation or by distracting yourself. Perhaps, by concentrating on something else that does not involve the hiccups. Such hiccups that last for few minutes from their onset is simple to take care of.
However, if you are frequently affected by hiccups without having eaten any spicy food, then it could either be your liver failing, a bacterial infection or anything. This may become serious if not treated immediately. So get to the doctor once you figured out that your hiccups occur too often. If it is one of those simple bouts, then this is the place for you to find out how best to take care of it.
How to Get Rid of Hiccups Fast & Immediately?
1.) Control Your Speed to Get Rid of Hiccups
Many researchers have proved that the speed at which you eat or drink something does determine whether your body suffers from a bout of hiccups or not. Scientists have proven that when a person eats food or drinks any liquids really fast, without letting the body get used to it, then the body will suffer from hiccups. This is the only way in which your body could tell you to take things slow and not eat or drink anything too fast. Reduce your eating speed to get rid of hiccups.
With food or any of the liquid, your body really needs the time get accustomed to it. So give it the time to take the food in. Forcing all the food or the liquid in at a single shot would make things difficult for the body. Even the amount of food or drink that goes into your body will affect your esophagus. When there is no space in your stomach, it will try to push out the air to make space for the food or liquid. At times when the air is being pushed out, some food particles would also come up the esophagus, thus causing the irritation and leading you to get more hiccups.
2.) Pills to Get Rid of Hiccups
Thanks to the development of science and technology, you can now cure almost all ailments with the help of some pills. This is so very true even for hiccups. You can go to any pharmacy and get yourself one of the following pills to help you with such a terrible predicament. Thorazine is the wonder medicine that is available in the market and you do not need a prescription for it. It can also be found under the name Chlorpromazine which is the best medicine for short term relief. Metoclopramide is another drug that is available in the market that can help to get rid of hiccups. This drug is not specifically made for hiccups, rather they are made to keep your gut empty. But guess what? It really does an amazing job to get rid of hiccups too.
You can also try any number of muscles relaxants and anti-seizure medicines too.
3.) Old African Remedy to Get Rid of Hiccups
At times, the simplest and the time tested not so scientific remedies can also help to get rid of hiccups. This particular remedy has nothing to do with medication, rather it simply deals with what you can do, that might sound like mumbo jumbo but does actually work.
As for this particular not so scientific trick to cure your hiccup, you would need a piece of paper, and some water. Just make the piece of paper wet on one side and stick that side to your forehead. Even before you can actually say “wet on one side” your hiccup would have stopped. There is no known scientific proof as to how the wet piece of paper helps with stopping the hiccup, but it does stop it!
4.) English Approach to Get Rid of Hiccups
This is rather quite an English approach to get rid of hiccups. Earlier we saw a pseudoscientific approach from Africa that helped cure hiccups, now this remedy that we are going to look at is an English pseudoscientific one that can help to get rid of hiccups effectively.
When you come across a person who is going through a bout of hiccups, just go ahead and ask him or her for their middle name. If they ask you why, don’t give them a reason, but sound like it is urgent that they tell you what their middle name is. Once they say it, ask them next to spell it out for you. By the time they completely spell out the name, their hiccup would have vanished. Remember this particular trick would only work for someone else and not when you try it upon yourself.
5.) Filter Water With Paper Towels to Get Rid of Hiccups
For this particular remedy, you would need a medium sized paper towel, a cup and a bottle of water. First, fill the cup completely with water. Next, place the paper towel on top of the cup that it completely covers its mouth. Once the mouth is covered, try drinking the water from the cup with the paper towel on it. With the paper towel on, it would be pretty difficult for you to drink the water and that is what will cure the hiccups. When you drink the water out of the cup like this, your mouth, and the esophagus need to create more suction to get the water to come out through the paper towel. When you do that, your body abandons all concentration of the hiccups and concentrates more on the actual suction that needs to be created. Voila, your hiccups are now gone!
6.) Create Some CO2 to Get Rid of Hiccups
One of the easiest ways with which you can get rid of hiccups would be to breathe into a paper bag. Scientists have proven that when you breathe in a paper bag, the lack of air circulation lets the carbon dioxide accumulate in the bag. With time you would actually be breathing in the carbon dioxide. Later your body would try to make up for the lack of oxygen and start concentrating upon that. When your body struggles to make up for the lost oxygen, it would automatically forget about the hiccups since it is really very important to get oxygen to live than worry about some irritation in the esophagus.
7.) Bite Down That Pencil to Get Rid of Hiccups
One of the most fun and not so very easy a way to get rid of hiccups would be to use a pencil. Well, when I say to use a pencil, it doesn’t mean that you have to write with it, rather, you would have to drink with. No, you can’t drink anything with a pencil like what you do with a straw, but a little bit different and a lot more exciting.
What you have to is, keep the pencil horizontally in your mouth and bite down upon it. With the pencil bitten down and protruding from both sides of your mouth, you would then have to try and sip some water out of a glass. The trick is not just to try and sip the water, but to sip it and drink it. You might think that this is relatively easy, but since it exerts a lot of pressure upon your concentration, it is a lot harder to drink this way. This pressure upon your concentration and the suction created in your mouth will definitely help to get rid of hiccups easily.
8.) Drink With a Tooth Pick to Get Rid of Hiccups
Again, this particular trick is used to help distract your mind away from your hiccup so that you can easily get over it. For this particular remedy, you would need a glass of water and a toothpick. First, break the toothpick into three equal pieces. Next drop two of the pieces in the glass of water. You would now have to pick up the glass and try drinking it is water without the pieces of the tooth pick going into your mouth.
When you drink out of this glass you have to make certain that you drink fast and not sip. When you do this, your mind would be extra conscious about the floating pieces of tooth picks and would try its best not to swallow it or let it get into your mouth. This in turn would divert your attention and cure your hiccups.
9.) Bargain to Get Rid of Hiccups
Every time you come across someone who goes into a bout of hiccups and if you really care about them, then make sure you bargain or perhaps wager a bet on their hiccup. This might seem like a very cruel idea, but it psychologically helps them to get over the hiccup. For example, if your friend is suffering from hiccups, tell him that he has to give you five dollars if his hiccups do not stop in the next thirty seconds. Keep increasing the amount and bargaining with your friend until the time the hiccups actually stop.
Remember that hiccups that are caused by irritation does cure over time, so all you are doing here is getting your friend’s attention away from the pain caused by the hiccups. Also the concept of losing a bet and paying you a lot of money would actually shock your friend out of the hiccup.
10.) Stretch Exercises to Get Rid of Hiccups
You can also do a very simple exercise to get rid of your hiccups. Before you actually try it for the hiccups, make certain that you are getting it right so you can use it right and not damage something.
First, extend both your arms in front of you and let them be parallel to the ground. Next, set your feet apart that they are in line with your hips and not way too far away from your body. You would then have to place the thumb of your right hand in the palm of the left hand and envelope this thumb with the fingers on your left.
Now, slowly stretch your arm out as much as you can to the front and slowly stretch upward as far as you could go. As you stretch your hands upward, lift your chin along to look up. At the same time, slowly exhale the air in your lungs and constrict your stomach. While doing this, if your body is induced to yawn then this is the right exercise. When you have hiccups, doing this exercise will get rid of it easily.
11.) Scare Away Hiccups to Get Rid of Hiccups
One of the most effective ways to help a person who has the worst hiccup is to show him the power of scare tactic. Well, you can’t scare yourself that very easily, but you sure can scare an unsuspecting friend very easily. If one of your friend’s is suffering from a bad episode of a hiccup attack make sure that you wait patiently. When the moment presents itself, you just need to startle your friend and the hiccup would be gone. Remember, for this simple trick, you do not need to invest heavily in scare masks, movies or even other gadgets that can scare a person, all you need is a good amount of patience. When your friend is least expecting it, just jump out of somewhere and boo them. You could achieve better results with a scare mask too, if you have one.
12.) Shut Up to Get Rid of Hiccups
One of the well known remedies to get rid of hiccups would also be to shut up. When we say shut up it just does not refer to your mouth and the words that come out of it. We are talking about shutting everything up – your nose, ears, eyes and your mouth!
For this particular remedy, you would have to use your thumb to press on the little triangular cartilage that is on the opening of your ear canal. This triangular cartridge is called tragus and you would have to press it down with your thumb in such a way that it blocks the ear canal and shuts out the sound.
Next cover your nostrils with your little fingers and then close your eyes. Now open your mouth and take a slow and deep breath in. After holding your breath for about 8 seconds, slowly release the air through your nostrils and all the while you would have to ensure that you breathe it out very slowly and not fast. This is yet another effective way to get rid of hiccups.
13.) Tug of Ears to Get Rid of Hiccups
This is not a scientifically proven remedy, but it sure does help people overcome the hiccups really soon. This could be a pseudoscientific effect like the other remedies that we have been talking about. However, this particular remedy is a lot more effective to control one’s hiccups. For this remedy, you will need a glass of water, your fingers and your ear lobes. Yes, you heard that right, your ear lobes.
First take a large gulp of water and keep it in your mouth. Do not drink the water until we say it is time. Next, with the water in your mouth, tug your ear lobes quite hard and hold them down. Now tilt your head all the way back and just glug the water in. Make sure that you do not drink the water in parts. Just tilt your head back and let the whole lot go in.
14.) Operatic Remedy to Get Rid of Hiccups
Well, this could be one of the most effective and difficult remedy for those of you who do not have any training in music. However, if you can bray as well as a donkey, then you should be able to pull this off and get rid of your hiccups effectively. First, you would have to breathe a lot of air in through your mouth and slowly let it out through your mouth as well.
As the air is being released by the mouth, you would have to make a sound that is at the very lowest pitch. You would slowly have to go to the highest pitch that you can manage and then bring it back to the lowest again. So remember, low to high and back to low all in one breath!
15.) Tickle to Get Rid of Hiccups
Earlier we saw how easy it was to scare your friend’s hiccups away, but we really didn’t see how best we can cure our hiccups. Well the best way to deal with your hiccups would tickle them away. If you tickle yourself, you are not going to be able to do anything, however, it would be best if you can get your friend to do it for you.
Well, they can try the scare tactic on you, but if you don’t want a minor heart attack with the scare, it would be best to go with the tickling! Ask your friend or friends to tickle you as hard as possible and very mercilessly. Let them tickle you till you can’t manage the laughter any more or until the time your hiccups actually stop.
16.) Hold Your Breath to Get Rid of Hiccups
One of the best ways to interrupt your hiccup would be by stopping your breath or to precisely put, cutting off the air supply to your lungs. When air goes down the esophagus, it tends to irritate that area more, so you would have to alternate between taking in air and then cutting the air supply.
First, you would have to tilt your head up and breathe in through your nostrils. Make sure you breathe in the air really fast until the time when no more air can be taken in. When you feel that there is no more space in your lungs, tilt your head back down. This time your chin has to touch your chest, thereby constricting the air supply to your lungs. Hold your breath in for 20 seconds and then slowly breathes it out. Repeat this step thrice to have an instant relief from hiccups.
17.) Cough, Sneeze and Burp to Get Rid of Hiccups
You could also try alternating between coughing and burping. This alternated action would help you to get rid of hiccups really soon. The action of coughing works on the lungs and the esophagus by constricting the muscles. The action of burping brings out the air from your stomach all the way through to your mouth.
When you alternate between coughing and burping, you are helping your esophagus constrict and dilate with each of these actions. After a few minutes of these alternated actions, you would see that the hiccup is completely gone.
If possible you can also try sneezing. In all honesty, there is nothing as effective as sneezing to stop the hiccups immediately. You can induce a sneeze by introducing lint or a soft feather into your nose or by using some snuff powder!
18.) Fight Safety Simulation to Get Rid of Hiccups
Remember the number of times the stewards and stewardesses told us about flight safety and what needs to be done in case of an air crash? Well, you can use one of those techniques to actually get rid of hiccup.
Here you have to use the actual crash technique wherein you have to fold your body into two. To do this particular exercise, you would have to sit on a chair with a straight back. Sit all the way in, with your back stretched and straight. Next, fold your arms around your body and hold yourself. You then would have to bend down and align your face to be parallel to the floor. Bring your arms closer together and tighten the grip on your body. As you do this, you would have to breathe in. Hold the air in for ten seconds and slowly breathe out. Come back to the upright position and repeat this exercise till the time the hiccups are completely gone.
19.) Shock Movements to Get Rid of Hiccups
You can also revert to shock therapy to take care of the hiccups. When we say shock therapy, we do not mean the electrotherapy that they conduct in the asylums because if that is what we wanted you to do, then we would have asked you to resort to electro therapy.
Here in the shock therapy, you would have to shock your body from the routine and make it snap out of what is was engrossed in doing. Let’s say that you were walking with your hiccups, the best way to stop it would be to do something very physical and something that your mind and your body did not expect. So as you are walking you could suddenly jolt and jump. This would shock your body from having any more hiccups.
20.) Row The Boat In Circles to Get Rid of Hiccups
For this particular technique you would first have to stand straight and then breathe in well. Take in as much air as you can take into your lungs. Immediately after this, close your nose shut tight by pinching it with your fingers. Now turn in the anti-clockwise direction and keep singing any nursery rhyme of your choice. Once you finish the song, breathe out, breathe back in and circle around in the clockwise direction.
If you really want a bit of change, then make certain to change the nursery rhyme every time you change directions. This particular exercise would help with deeper and faster breathing. It would also help you modulate your breathing in and breathing out, thus working your lungs and esophagus better so that you get rid of hiccups soon.
21.) Eat Some Goo to Get Rid of Hiccups
We all know that peanut butter, nutella, almond butter and raw cookie dough are very much like goo. This is what is best for you to eat to ensure that you can get rid of hiccups really soon. Take a large tablespoon of either of the above mentioned products and place it on your tongue. Take out the spoon and stick the peanut butter or nutella to the upper pallet in your mouth. The upper pallet would be the hard ridged surface on the roof of your mouth. With time, your saliva would help dilute the peanut butter and help you swallow it. Make certain that you do not chew any of it and that you just swallow the whole spoonful of the goo to soothe your throat.
22.) Salt and Lemon to Get Rid of Hiccups
The moment we see the words salt and lemon together, we are only reminded with the thoughts of party with tequila. However, tequila is not going to be that very well when it comes to getting rid of your hiccups. So the best thing that you can do is make certain that you just stick to the lemon pieces and salt.
You would have to take at least three lemon pieces to get the work done. Just place the wedges in your mouth and suck out the bitter sour taste. You will probably scrunch your face up in absolute disgust. This absolute disgust is what is going to help you to get rid of hiccups. Table salt will also help achieve the same reaction thus helping you overcome your hiccups easily.
23.) Sweet to Get Rid of Hiccups
For those of you who have a sweet tooth, this could be the best remedy ever. Even otherwise, this remedy is better than the previous. When you are suffering a bout of hiccups, make sure that you place a lot of sugar or something very sweet in your mouth. Your mouth should basically be so stuffed with sweet or sugar that even the back of your tongue, where the sensors for bitterness is, should only be able to taste just the sweet. When your body is confused about the taste overdrive and the sudden pack of sweetness, it easily helps you to get rid of hiccups.
24.) Sour to Drink to Get Rid of Hiccups
Apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or even white wine vinegar can do the trick. If you are looking for something even more disgusting and can give the results really very soon, then make it a point to drink lemon concentrate. Either of these should easily make you snap out of your hiccups really soon. These items work more like a shock on the taste buds, thereby making your internal organs react to it. When your body concentrates on this shocking taste, it immediately forgets about the hiccups.
25.) Hands Free Drinking to Get Rid of Hiccups
As for the very last remedy to get rid of hiccups, you need to try and drink water without holding the glass. For better results, place the glass of water on a table, put your lips to the rim of the glass and try drinking the water. Remember, you cannot tilt the glass nor can you use your hands to hold it. When you do this, you would only use the suction power of your mouth, thus helping your lungs work on your esophagus. By the time you finish the contents of your glass, your hiccup will be gone.