With this post I wanted to have a little fun and talk about something that is pretty innocuous. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to make light of patients that may go on to develop persistent and refractory hiccups. As this would certainly create a pretty massive dent in one’s quality of life. Although that is pretty rare to see, only occurring in roughly 1 in 100,000. The main reason I wanted to explore this topic was to see if there was any truth to some of the bizarre remedies that folks have claimed and to see if any of this could be medically explained.
Every single one of us has experienced them at some point. The potential triggers are endless as well.
For me, every time I eat spicy food I will immediately develop hiccups. The spicier the food, the more intense the hiccup. Thankfully these symptoms don’t last very long.
This is generally the same experience by most with symptoms lasting no more than a few minutes. Another interesting tidbit is that hiccups seem to be more common in men and more common in people that are taller.
Before we get into the fun stuff, what is a hiccup?
A hiccup is generated when the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles within the ribs simultaneously spasm and contract. This causes a sudden gasp followed by the abrupt closure of the glottis. That creates the “hic” sound.
The reflex arc of a hiccup contains pretty complicated nerve pathways. Although in simplest terms 3 major nerve pathways (phrenic, vagus, sympathetic chain) carry input to the brain which in turn produces the necessary contraction for the hiccup to occur.
While there isn’t a robust amount of studies on hiccups the consensus is that hiccups lasting less than 48 hours are generally considered to be the result of a benign process.
If nagging hiccups have you down, don’t worry-there are plenty of natural remedies to kick them out. And if nothing else works, a good scare might just do the trick!
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of content found on this blog.
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