How to get rid of hiccups has been a question in my house ever since my oldest son was born 12 years ago. All three of the boys {and myself} often end up with the hiccups. We have tried almost everything from drinking LOTS of water, holding our breath, drinking upside-down and even a spoonful of sugar.
How to Get Rid of Hiccups Quickly
Incidentally, my kids favorite hiccup cure is the spoonful of sugar, but it unfortunately it has proved to be the least effective!
Up until we learned this best hiccup cure secret, our most effective method was being “scared” out of hiccups. But once you realize someone is going to scare you, you don’t get scared.
OK, are you ready to hear how to get rid of hiccups?
Two Step Hiccup Cure
It is a simple two-step process to get rid of hiccups:
- The person with the hiccups drinks a beverage WHILE
- Another person stands behind him/her and pulls DOWN gently on both the hiccuper’s ear lobes.
It works pretty quickly. Usually a few swallows in, the hiccups disappear.
Why This Hiccup Cure Works Every Time
Scientifically, it appears the sticking fingers in your ears helps stimulate the vagus nerve overloading it to a point where the hiccups stop.
That is it! No more hiccups!
How I Learned How to Stop Hiccups
We were on vacation staying at a roadside hotel in Amarillo, TX on our drive from Texas to Colorado. The hotel had a buffet breakfast which we were inhaling {foreshadow alert} before the long trip ahead.
My 10 year old had the hiccups.
He was walking {hiccup} around the {hiccup} buffet choosing the food {hiccup} he was going to {hiccup} eat when a stranger {hiccup} approached him.
“Do you want me to show you how to get rid of those?”
Startled by being approached by a stranger scared the hiccups out of him! But that is NOT the cure I am talking about.
The man’s wife approached and announced that they knew the secret to 100% hiccup cure to date. They were a retired couple also traveling and they swore that this was grandkid-tested. We chatted for awhile. They shared the secret and I thanked them.
Ever since that day, we have used this hiccup ridding method and it has been 100% effective for us too!
What an easy way to get rid of hiccups!
What are Hiccups?
Hiccups are funny things that just happen and I didn’t know why. When I did a little hiccup research, I found this was the best explanation of what hiccups actually are…
Hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm — the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen and plays an important role in breathing. Each contraction is followed by a sudden closure of your vocal cords, which produces the characteristic “hic” sound.
Mayo Clinic
I hadn’t thought of why they are called hiccups until I read that description, but you do end up making that “hic” sound over and over.
How long can hiccups last?
Normal hiccups last just a few minutes up to one hour (that sounds miserable), but if your hiccups last longer than a day and start to interrupt your ability to eat or sleep it is recommended you see a doctor.
How do you get hiccups?
Why do Hiccups happen in Kids?
In kids, the most common reason why hiccups happen is excitement triggering a spasm of the diaphragm They can also be the result of a large meal or carbonated beverage. Most cases of hiccups last just a few minutes. If your child has persistent hiccups that lasts hours, check with your doctor.
Why do Hiccups happen in Adults?
WebMd reports that hiccups happen in adults for multiple reasons like eating too quickly, feeling nervous, stress, drinking carbonated beverages or alcohol, sudden change in temperature or swallowing air.
Hiccup Cure – Other Ways to Get Rid of Hiccups
There are scores of hiccup remedies and I hope you do not need to look beyond the one that worked best for us described above we are always in favor of home remedies:
- Check out the hiccaway straws. This straw-like device has a pressure valve inside the McFlurry straw size Hiccaway device. The additional suction you need to exert to get fluid through the straw gives this new device the ability to outperform numerous home remedies for curing hiccups. The downside is that you need to have a hiccaway straws handy next time you have a case of the hiccups.
- Breathing into a paper bag has been reported to help eliminate hiccups, but it has never worked for me. Theoretically when you breathe into a paper bag, it elevates the blood’s level of carbon dioxide which calms the contraction of the diaphragm spasms.
- Drinking from the opposite side of the glass is one of the most popular old wives’ tales hiccup cures! It is an easy way to describe how to drink water upside down. Simply lean forward and place your lips on the opposite side of the glass you would normally drink from. This is one of the hiccup solutions that have partially worked for us if you are looking for anecdotal experience as a guide!
- Eating a spoonful of peanut butter is also a popular cure. Since peanut butter takes awhile to digest, your vagus nerve reacts in a way that slows breathing and stopping the hiccups. For us, this hiccup cure just takes longer and isn’t always effective.
- Try the bartender hiccup cure by sprinkling a lemon wedge with bitters. There is more information about the steps here.
How To Prevent Hiccups
To prevent hiccups be careful to:
- Eat at a normal pace.
- Keep your stress level in check.
- Watch your carbonated beverage and alcohol intake.
- Dress for the weather.
- Be conscious of not swallowing air when chewing gum or eating candy.
Longest Bout of Hiccups Recorded
The vast majority of cases of hiccups last just a few minutes and resolve without adverse effects. As a proof that hiccups won’t kill you, check out the story of Charles Osborne and his intractable hiccups.
Charles Osborne started hiccoughing in 1922 while attempting to weigh a hog before slaughtering it. He was unable to find a cure, but led a normal life in which he had two wives and fathered eight children. He continued until a morning in February 1990.
–Guinness World Records, Guinness Book of World Records Longest Attack of Hiccups
How to Get Rid of Hiccups
You have tried all the traditional hiccup cures and your child still has the hiccups! Here is the one that has worked for us 100% of the time to cure the hiccups.
Materials
- Glass of water
Tools
- An additional person available to assist
Instructions
- The person with the hiccups drinks from the glass of water WHILE...
- The assisting person stands behind and gently pulls DOWN on both the hiccuper's ear lobes.
Notes
This usually works within a few swallows of water.
More Hiccups Info & Fun from Kids Activities Blog
- Good news for babies with the hiccups! Experts say baby hiccups may help brain development.
- Need a giggle? Check out this video of a baby confused over hiccups.
- At home preschool curriculum
- 100th day of school shirt ideas
- Playdough recipe
How did this hiccup cure work for you? Please let me know in the comments below if you have a way to cure hiccups that we didn’t mention.
So… I don’t think anyone mentioned this… A teaspoon of Pickle Juice works. Every time. And you can do it all by yourself 🙂
From where I come from, the old belief is to tear and lick a small piece of paper/newspaper (probably about the size of a finger tip) and paste it on the hiccuping baby’s forehead. We laughed when we first tried it when my boy was an infant, but were surprised that the hiccups stopped after a while. Not sure if it’ll work on 10 year olds and don’t think it’ll be on their foreheads for long!
The whole hiccup thing has to do with spasms. When I was a kid I would drink from a drinking fountain or glass of water upside-down and drink 10 sips while holding my breath (full lungs). Then instead of gasping for air I would breath slowly in and slowly out. This worked 99% of the time. 100% on the second time. Never took more than two times. As an adult with kids I started to think about this…and it is all in the spasms. Now I do hold my breath and drink 10 swallows but not upside-down. The IMPORTANT THING to stop the spasms is after you finish not to gasp for hair. I think holding your breath stops the spasms, the drinking of the water perhaps is what pulling on the ear lobe does – BUT DO NOT GASP FOR BREATH….it will start the spasms again. Let the air out slowly and the next breath in slowly. It works every time. Why am I telling you this – there will be time no one will be there to help you pull your ear lobe. Plus it doesn’t seem as silly!
I am going to try this at the next opportunity – I have heard every cure for hiccups and this is a brand new one to me! Love it when wisdom hands down something really useful.
Thank you for sharing this! It totally worked.
Not suitable for kids and not always convenient, but french kissing has always worked for me.
This is too cool! I can’t wait to someone in my house hiccups!
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Wow! This is a cool idea. We got a hicural and guess what. We have had it in the house for 15 months or so and no one has had the hiccups. I guess it works without ever being used!
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I didn’t know about that hiccup cure, I knew about the scaring cure, but not that. I will keep it in mind next time someone I knew get the hiccups.
I always get rid of mine by holding my breath for as long as I can. Works every time.