FAST FACTS ABOUT HICCUPS
PRESSURE POINTS Applying pressure to certain points on your body may relax your diaphragm or stimulate your vagus and phrenic nerves. The CDC recommends gently pulling your tongue forward once or twice to stimulate the nerves and muscles in your throat. If that doesn’t help, you can try plugging both your nostrils and ears while simultaneously drinking a glass of water. EATING AND DRINKING Some remedies include ingesting strange products through even stranger means, but only a few food- or drink-based remedies are actually touted by experts. While your favorite uncle might argue that a tablespoon of mustard, honey, or peanut butter does the trick, the CDC suggests that you gargle with iced water, suck on a thin slice of lemon, or drink an entire glass of warm water very slowly without breathing. Similar to the pressure point remedies, these methods are thought to relax your diaphragmatic nerves. While everyone seems to have a tried-and-true method they swear by, the next time you’re plagued with the hiccups, perhaps you should consider one of the CDC’s official solutions. What Causes Them and Which Remedies Actually Work?
Everyone knows the feeling of impending dread that arises when a hiccup first escapes your throat. While hiccups usually go away on their own within a few minutes, they can interfere with eating and talking in a frustrating way. As a result, many people have come up with creative tricks to get rid of them. With common solutions like having a friend scare you or eating a heaping spoonful of sugar, how can you tell which of these remedies actually works? Hiccups occur when your diaphragm — a thin muscle in your chest that assists with breathing — spasms involuntarily, causing you to suddenly inhale. When this happens, your vocal cords snap shut, resulting in the hiccup’s distinctive guttural sound. While many household remedies are supported by centuries of anecdotal evidence, only a handful of studies have evaluated their effectiveness. Here are three natural methods backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BREATHING While there are countless remedies that involve holding your breath, only one is encouraged by the CDC. Place a paper bag over your nose and mouth and breathe in and out deeply and slowly. This increases the carbon dioxide levels in your blood, which is thought to calm nerves and relax the diaphragm.
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