Hiccups are an unpleasant occurrence in adults and children. It appears suddenly and can be a long time. Therefore, it is important to know how to stop hiccups. There are proven methods that will quickly improve a person’s condition. They will be discussed in the article.
Types
Specialists distinguish 3 types of hiccups:
- Hiccups of Benin are a common species. Its duration is from a few seconds to minutes. May occur several times a day.
- Persistent. Duration can be 48 hours, often more. The phenomenon may be repeated.
- Long lasting. It lasts for several months, and often years.
Why does it appear
This phenomenon is characterized by involuntary rhythmic contractions of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. With muscle cramps, the gap between the vocal cords is closed, which is why a characteristic sound is formed.
You need to know not only how to stop hiccups in adults. Reasons should also be considered:
- Often this appears due to overeating. Muscle contractions occur due to a very full and distended stomach.
- Another factor is the vagus nerve irritation. Long hiccups for no apparent reason arise due to the fact that the phrenic nerve sends excitation to the muscles. This reason is not fully understood.
- Hiccups appear in fright when, with a sharp breath, the phrenic nerve is clamped.
- An unpleasant ailment occurs with a long stay in an uncomfortable position, when the body is squeezed and pinched.
- Rare causes include hypothermia, alcohol intoxication, rapid swallowing of poorly chewed food, severe coughing and laughter.
- The causes are related to internal pathologies or damage. Often this occurs with diseases of the nervous or digestive system, metabolic disorders.
These are the main causes of hiccups in adults. How to stop? Treatment can be performed by different methods. There are also precautions to prevent the onset of hiccups. In rare cases, the problem is resolved with surgery.
Quick ways
If the causes of this phenomenon are not hazardous to health, then you can solve the problem yourself. How to quickly stop hiccups? The most effective include the following methods:
- Need to drink some water. This method is associated with diaphragm irritation. It is necessary to consume water chilled, in small sips and without haste. Swallowing movements with temperature differences work perfectly.
- You should hold your breath. This is a way to influence diaphragm pressure reduction. It is necessary to gain chest with air, hold your breath for as long as possible. It is advisable to perform inhalation not with the chest, but with the stomach.
- Need to breathe in the bag. With this method, you should breathe into a paper bag. First, the bag is inflated, and then the air must be drawn into itself.
- Sugar (1 tsp) should be placed under the tongue and dissolve. This action leads to severe salivation, which affects the functioning of the esophagus, diaphragm sensitivity and swallowing. Instead of sugar, you can use butter (a slice).
- Normal fright eliminates hiccups. It can be a sharp pop or a sudden sound. A sharp reduction in the diaphragm increases the chances of eliminating hiccups.
- To fix the problem will allow the pressing of the knees to the chest. It is necessary to bend down, squeezing the diaphragm.
If the hiccup lasts no more than 10 minutes, then it is not dangerous to health. To prevent it from occurring, a balanced diet is required. You can not overeat, you should lead a healthy lifestyle, keep the nervous system normal.
Gymnastics from hiccups
How to stop hiccups in adults? Special exercises for the muscles of the larynx help in this:
- You should open your mouth wide and raise the larynx with the reverse tip of a teaspoon or a special stick. This can lead to a gag reflex, but hiccups will be stopped. As a result, stimulation of nerve endings and prevention of contraction of the muscles of the diaphragm occur.
- A small charge, when the muscular system of the press and the diaphragm is training, leads to the elimination of this unpleasant symptom.
- Helps breathing exercises or performing yoga asanas. If such exercises are not known, you can just stretch up, standing on your toes and performing tilts. At this time, uniform and deep breathing through the nose is required.
- Other simple actions will help stop spasm in the respiratory organs. It is necessary to take a deep breath, covering both ears and nose. In this state, you need to hold out for 5-10 seconds.
- Announcers and professional singers use a proven method - gargling. In the mouth you need to draw a little liquid. Tilt your head back and breathe out air through the throat. Do not swallow fluid.
- Many use "empty swallowing." This helps with hiccups, which appeared with laryngeal cramps. A little saliva is swallowed. At the same time, you need to hold your breath a little. This method eliminates short-term and long-term hiccups.
- With mild hiccups, a small pressure on the depression located at the bottom of the neck helps.
- A light massage of the chest eliminates the problem.
These methods help with a short-term phenomenon. If it is long, then you need to contact a specialist. He will tell you how to stop hiccups by other effective means. Only a doctor can prescribe the use of medicines.
With alcohol intoxication
How to stop hiccups after alcohol? With the episodic phenomenon that appears when drinking small doses of alcoholic beverages, methods such as help:
- drinking water;
- breath holding
- physical exercise.
To quickly remove alcohol from the body, enterosorbents, vitamin B, and gastric lavage are necessary. With alcohol poisoning, the help of a doctor is required. In the hospital, detoxification therapy is performed. To relieve the syndrome of alcohol withdrawal and stop persistent hiccups, antipsychotics ("Aminazine") and other psychotic drugs are used.
Prolonged occurrence
Hiccups do not last long and after a few minutes disappears. But there are times when the phenomenon does not stop and begins to torment a person. In this case, more decisive action is needed. Then how to stop the hiccups? It is necessary to consult a doctor, he will prescribe medications that will eliminate this unpleasant problem. Muscle relaxants are often prescribed - drugs that relax muscles, as well as a means to regulate digestion. Carminative and antacid drugs are effective.
Eliminate persistent hiccups will allow the saturation of blood with carbon dioxide. To do this, breathe through your mouth in a paper bag. How to stop hiccups if they are caused by stress? In this case, the following tips will help:
- In stresses, it is necessary to control breathing - it should be calm, even, do not hold it.
- Before important events, it is advisable to take sedatives and get distracted by other issues.
- An elastic band or bracelet is put on the wrist. If it is felt that an attack may begin, the rubber band must be pulled back and released. This technique switches attention and fixes the problem.
Hiccups that last more than an hour and are accompanied by dangerous symptoms in the form of shortness of breath, dizziness, difficulty breathing, are considered a reason to see a doctor. Effective remedies will be prescribed by a specialist based on their state of health.
In children
How to stop hiccups in infants? The following methods will help in this:
- Attacks usually appear after eating. The cause of this condition is the ingestion of a large amount of air into the stomach. To help, you need to take the baby in your arms after feeding and carry it upright. The heat of the body acts effectively, for this child they are pressed against themselves. Such measures will help remove excess air and hiccups disappear.
- If this phenomenon lasts a long time, then you need to give the baby a little water. If there was no feeding yet, and the hiccups appeared on their own, then the mother should breastfeed.
- Hiccups appear when freezing. Therefore, the child just needs to warm.
- To stop this phenomenon, you need to communicate with the child in a quiet voice, turn off the loud equipment and turn off the bright light.
- Effective infusion of chamomile. This requires several sips of lightly brewed funds. Simple warm water is also suitable.
Other ways for children
How to stop hiccups in other ways at home? The following methods are used for this:
- Hiccups may appear with the arrival of strangers, in a fright. In this situation, you should limit visits to family or friends. Preferably, the first weeks do not show the crumbs to strangers at all. This will protect against seizures.
- In the kid’s room there should be light lighting to be gloomy.
- To eliminate seizures, use lemon juice. It should be dripped into the mouth for about 2-3 drops. After that, the attack stops. This method is used in the absence of an allergy to citrus fruits.
- Helps infusion of chamomile, it should be made strong. They drip it under the tongue.
- With frequent attacks, you should not strongly feed the baby. If you violate this rule, the phenomenon may become chronic. Usually after 1 year of life, this condition ceases to bother.
- You should take the child by the ring fingers, grab and tightly squeeze in your hand.
- A heating pad or bottle filled with cold water is applied to the stomach.
- Mustard plaster helps. It is placed at the top of the abdomen, but only with wrapping paper or a towel. Keep no more than 5 minutes.
These methods can alleviate the condition of children. In addition, they are absolutely harmless.
Complications and prevention
Hiccups do not lead to consequences and complications. But doctors recommend timely elimination of pathologies that can lead to this phenomenon.
If there is occasional hiccups, it is necessary to exclude the intake of alcohol. It is necessary to eat only healthy food, excluding hypothermia. If deterioration is felt during therapy, then this should be reported to the doctor.