Two Mechanisms by Which Hiccups Medicines Actually Work
Hiccups are undoubtedly annoying and can really ruin your day. Chances are, you have your own home remedy for them. If they work, that’s fine, but you might be wondering why one method is more effective than the other. As it turns out, the BBC has conducted an investigation to find out what needs to happen for your hiccups to stop.
Laughing, drinking a lot of alcohol, eating too quickly, or just a strange spontaneous reaction can spasm in your diaphragm, causing air to rush to your lungs, causing your vocal cords to suddenly close and making a hiccup sound. hiccups. They are unpleasant, annoying and always seem to happen at the most inopportune moment. There is no real cure for hiccups, but home remedies that do work fall into two categories: those that increase blood carbon dioxide levels and those that stimulate the vagus nerve.
Increased levels of carbon dioxide
If you have ever had the good fortune with hiccups freeze techniques like holding your breath or breathing in a paper bag, then most likely since these methods increase blood carbon dioxide (CO2) levels by suppressing diaphragm spasms according to the BBC :
They can sometimes work, but researchers don’t know why. Some people think this is a way to distract the body so that it will worry about CO2 buildup instead; others have suggested that hiccups may be caused primarily by low CO2 levels, and therefore high levels suppress hiccups.
Vagus nerve stimulation
Many of the other home remedies people use to get rid of hiccups, like drinking with water or scaring someone, fall into this category. They work because they stimulate the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the stomach, and helps coordinate breathing and swallowing. Here’s what the BBC found in its investigation:
This nerve is involved in the hiccupping process, but you can interrupt the chain of events by stimulating the nerve to send signals to the brain, telling it to pay attention to this new sensation. This is where drugs such as swallowing water, biting a lemon, or eating crushed ice come in. Likewise, pulling the tip of the tongue, sticking fingers into your ears, or lightly pressing on the eyeballs can all stimulate the vagus nerve. Think of it as distracting the body from the hiccups by making something else dramatic happen to it. The same logic applies to scaring someone.
Basically, scientists aren’t entirely sure why hiccup cures work, but the lesson is that if something works for you, keep doing it.
This story was originally published in 2014 and was updated on 12/6/19 to provide more complete and up-to-date information.