Why You Get Hiccups ..and How To Make Them Stop

Once is funny, twice is hilarious, and anything more than that is usually just annoying. We’ve all had them, but do you actually know where they come from? They’re hiccups, and they’re the strange little sounds that can escape from your mouth without warning.

Hiccups start much lower in your body, though — in the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle between your lungs and stomach. Normally, the diaphragm pulls down when you inhale to let air into your lungs, and then relaxes when you exhale so air can flow back out of your lungs to exit your nose and mouth.

But if something irritates your diaphragm, it can spasm, forcing you to suddenly suck air into your throat, where it hits your voice box. That makes your vocal cords suddenly close, creating the distinct “hic!” sound.

Why Do Hiccups Happen?

Hiccups can happen for a lot of reasons — some of them are physical, and some emotional. That’s because the actual irritation happens in the nerve connecting the brain to the diaphragm. Some common causes include:

• Eating too much or too quickly
• Feeling nervous or excited
• Drinking carbonated beverages or too much alcohol
• Stress
• A sudden change in temperature
• Swallowing air while sucking on candy or chewing gum

Long-term Hiccups

Hiccups are usually temporary, but in rare cases, they can stick around — for a while. It’s usually because of damage or aggravation to the nerves connected to the diaphragm. Everything from a hair touching your eardrum to a sore throat can affect these nerves, and in more serious cases, a tumor, goiter, or cyst in the neck can damage them.

Hiccups that last a while can also be because of central nervous system disorders like encephalitis or meningitis, or metabolic disorders like diabetes or kidney failure. Drugs like steroids or some tranquilizers can trigger long-term hiccups, too.

And even certain procedures, especially ones that require anesthesia, can give you hiccups. If you’ve been hiccupping for more than 2 days, or if they are severe enough to interfere with eating, breathing, sleeping or are causing you distress, you should make an appointment with your doctor.

Also, talk to your doctor immediately if you have any kind of stomach pain, fever, shortness of breath, vomiting, or cough up blood with your hiccups.

How to Make Them Stop

If you’re hoping that hanging upside down or having a friend scare you will get your hiccups to stop, we hate to disappoint you. But there’s no scientific proof that these remedies work.

However, some experts think holding your breath or breathing into a paper bag might do the trick; both techniques make carbon dioxide build up in your lungs, which might relax the diaphragm.

If all else fails, and your hiccups continue for several days or more, your doctor may try different medications to see if they can put an end to those uncomfortable hiccups. Good luck!

Get the Facts About Bottle Feeding and Infant Formula

Glass or Plastic Bottles?

Your baby may give you clues about which he likes better. Some things to consider: Plastic bottles are lighter than glass and are shatterproof. But they may not last as long as glass. In the past, some parents chose glass to avoid a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) that is used in some plastic bottles. Now, all plastic bottles sold in the U.S. are BPA-free.

What to Know About Nipples

Most are made of silicone or latex, and they come in various shapes. They sometimes have different “flow rates,” based on the size of the nipple’s hole. You may want to try several types to see what your baby likes and can drink easily from. Check nipples often for signs of wear or cracking. Replace any that are worn or discolored.

Wash Bottles and Nipples

You can wash them with detergent and hot water, by hand or in the dishwasher. Do it each time you use them. You may prefer to wash plastic bottles by hand, since some studies show that chemicals leak from plastic when it’s exposed to hot temperatures. Most experts feel there’s no need to boil bottles.

Stick to Breast Milk or Formula

Give your newborn only pumped breast milk or formula in the bottle — no water or juice. Mix formula exactly as it says on the label. Adding too much water thins the formula, skimping on nutrition. And it may cause low salt in the baby, which can lead to seizures. Too little water may be hard for your little one’s stomach and kidneys.

How to Choose a Formula

Most parents start with one made from cow’s milk. You can also buy soy and hypoallergenic kinds. Make sure you use one that’s iron-fortified. You can buy formula in powdered, concentrated, or ready-to-use forms. By 6 months, your baby should be drinking between 6 and 8 ounces per feeding.

Warm or Room Temperature?

It’s fine to give your baby a cool or room-temperature bottle. If he prefers warm formula, put the filled bottle in warm water or run hot tap water over it for 1-2 minutes. Or you could use a bottle warmer. Don’t use the microwave. It can cause hot spots that could burn your baby’s mouth. Shake the formula and put a drop on the top of your hand to test the temperature. Don’t test it on your wrist — it’s less sensitive to heat.

How to Hold Your Baby

Put a bib on him, and have a cloth ready to clean any spit-up breast milk or formula. Now, cradle him with his head a bit higher than the rest of his body. Hold the bottle and watch him eat. Watching your baby will help you know when he’s finished. Try to burp him halfway through the feed to help limit spit-up.

Keep a Grip on the Bottle

When you’re tired, it can be tempting to prop up the bottle on a pillow and let your baby feed herself. But there are lots of perks if you hold the bottle while she eats. It’s great for bonding, and it’s safer. Leaving your baby with a propped-up bottle makes choking and tooth decay more likely. It can also cause ear infections. So enjoy your bottle time!

How Do You Know When Baby’s Done?

Your little one will let you know when she’s finished feeding. She may stop sucking, turn away from the bottle, or, if she’s old enough, push the bottle away. Give her a chance to change her mind, but don’t make her finish what’s in the bottle. If your baby tends to spit up after feeds, you may need to give her less.

How to Burp Her

If your baby needs a burp during or after feeding, hold her on your lap or rest her on your shoulder. Gently pat or rub her back. You can also lay her tummy-down on your lap, supporting her head, while you pat her back. She may spit up some milk, so have a cloth handy. If she doesn’t burp after a few minutes but seems content, don’t worry. Not every baby burps after every feeding.

Cut Down on Spit Up

If your baby spits up a lot, burp her every few minutes during feedings. Don’t lay her down or play with her for 45 minutes after she eats. Hold her upright or prop her up in a car seat after the meal. Spitting up often gets better when a baby starts sitting up. If you’re worried about how much she spits up, talk to her pediatrician.

Should You Switch Formulas?

If your baby spits up a lot or is fussy, you might blame the formula. Sometimes, babies can have allergies that can cause things like diarrhea, vomiting, or dry, red skin. If you see this, talk to your little one’s doctor. He’ll tell you if you need to change formulas — and if so, how to do it best. Don’t make a change before you talk to the doctor.

How Long Can You Store Milk?

Make formula as needed. Don’t mix big batches. Always throw out formula that’s left over in the bottle. Refrigerate opened packages of liquid formula right away, and use them within 48 hours. If you have mixed formula from powder, you can store it for 24 hours in the fridge. If formula is left out more than 2 hours, throw it out. Refrigerate breast milk for use within 7 days. Or freeze it. Breast milk can last 3 months in a regular freezer that’s kept at 0^o F, or 6 months in a deep freezer.

Hiccups, Chronic – NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders)

TEXTBOOKS

Beers MH, Berkow R., eds. The Merck Manual, 17th ed. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories; 1999:240.

Berkow R., ed. The Merck Manual-Home Edition.2nd ed. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories; 2003:545.

Larson DE. ed. Mayo Clinic Family Health Book. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc; 1996:745.

Bennett JC, Plum F, eds. Cecil Textbook of Medicine. 20th ed. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, PA; 1996:442-43.

REVIEW ARTICLES

Moretti R, Torre P, Antonello RM, et al. Gabapentin as a drug therapy of intractable hiccup because of a vascular lesion: a three-year follow up. Neurologist. 2004;10:102-06.

Smith HS, Busracamwongs A. management of hiccups in the palliative care population. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2003;20:149-54.

Friedman NL. Hiccups: a treatment review. Pharmacotherapy. 1996;16:986-95.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Nagayama T, Kaji M, HiranoH, et al. Intractable hiccups as a presenting symptom of cerebellar hemangioblastoma. Case report. J Neurosurg. 2004;100:1107-10.

Witoonpanich R, Pirommai B, Tunlayadechanont S. Hiccups and multiple sclerosis. J Med Assoc Thai. 2004;87:1168-71.

Morgan JA, Ginsburg ME, Sonett JR, et al. Advanced thoracoscopic procedures are facilitated by computer-aided robotic technology. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2003;23:883-87.

Strate T, Langwieler TE, Mann O, et al. Intractable hiccup: an odd complication after laparoscopic fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease. Surg Endosc. 2002;16:1109.

Dobelle WH. Use of breathing pacemakers to suppress intractable hiccups of up to thirteen years duration. ASAIO J. 1999;45:524-25.

Funakawa I, Terao A. Intractable hiccups and syncope in multiple sclerosis. Acta Neurol Scand. 1998;98:136-39.

FROM THE INTERNET

Martell B. Hiccups. Medical Encyclopedia. MedlinePlus. Update Date: 5/4/2003. 2pp.

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003068.htm

Wilkes G. Hiccups emedicine. Last Updated: January 11, 2005. 20pp.

www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic252.htm

Clark C. Dealing with cases of hiccups. The Pharmaceutical Journal. 30 October 2004. 2pp.

www.pjonline.com

Shmerling RH. The Myth and Mystery of Hiccups. IntelliHealth. March 9, 2004. 5pp.

www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/ 35320/35323/376581.html?d=dmtHMSContent

Singultus (Hiccups). National Center for Emergency Medicine Informatics. NCEMI. nd. 2pp.

www.ncemi.org/cse/cse0601.htm

Hiccups (Hiccoughs). How to stop hiccups. Hiccups causes

What are the symptoms of hiccups?

Everyone has had hiccups, and knows exactly what they are and what they feel like. They affect women and men equally, although persistent hiccups occur much more commonly in men. They happen mainly in the evening.

There is an important difference between short bouts of hiccups and persistent hiccups (lasting longer than 48 hours). Persistent hiccups are more likely to be linked to an underlying illness and you may need medical tests.

What causes short bouts of hiccups?

Most people have bouts of hiccups from time to time. In most cases they start for no apparent reason, last a short while and then stop. Sometimes they are due to:

• Sudden excitement or emotional stress.
• A temporary swollen stomach caused by overeating or eating too fast, drinking fizzy drinks, or swallowing air.
• A sudden change in temperature (very hot or cold food or drinks, a cold shower, etc).
• Alcohol.
• Excess smoking.

What causes persistent hiccups?

Persistent hiccups are rare.

• In some cases, persistent hiccups are caused by an underlying disease. Over 100 diseases have been reported to cause hiccups. Some are common, such as acid reflux, and some are rare. You would normally have other symptoms apart from the hiccups.
• In some cases of persistent hiccups there is no apparent cause. However, the persistent hiccups can become exhausting and distressing.

Examples of conditions which can cause persistent hiccups are:

• Certain medicines – examples are steroids, tranquillisers, painkillers containing opiates (such as morphine) and methyldopa (for blood pressure).
• Changes in blood chemistry such as from alcohol, high blood sugar, or lack of calcium or potassium in the blood.
• Gut problems such as acid reflux, stretching (distension) of the stomach, infection of the gallbladder or infection under the diaphragm.
• A general anaesthetic.
• Conditions affecting the neck, chest or tummy (abdomen). For example, surgery, infections (such as sore throat or pneumonia), swellings or tumours in these parts of the body.
• Some heart conditions – a heart attack or inflammation around the heart.
• Brain conditions such as stroke, head injury or brain infection.
• Hiccups which sometimes occur in the late stages of a terminal illness such as when a person is very ill with advanced cancer.

Do I need any tests?

You are unlikely to need any tests unless you have persistent hiccups lasting more than 48 hours or frequent recurring short bouts of hiccups Unless your doctor can find an obvious cause, they will most likely want to do some tests.

The initial tests are usually blood tests, a heart tracing (electrocardiogram, or ECG) and a chest X-ray. These look for changes such as blood chemistry, chest problems or heart disease.

Other tests may be advised, depending on your individual situation and whether any other medical condition is suspected.

What is the treatment for hiccups?

Short bouts of hiccups

Most cases need no treatment, as a bout of hiccups usually soon goes.

There are many popular remedies that are said to stop a short bout of hiccups but they are based on people’s individual experiences. It is not clear how effective they are, as they have not been tested by research trials. They include the following:

• First, block off all airways by putting fingers in your ears and blocking your nostrils. Then, take a sip or two of water from a glass. It is possible to do this alone (looks a bit silly – but is possible) but you may find it easier with an assistant.
• Sipping iced water.
• Swallowing granulated sugar.
• Biting on a lemon or tasting vinegar.
• Breath holding, breathing fast, or breathing into a paper bag.
• Gasping after a sudden fright, or sneezing.
• Pulling your knees up to your chest and/or leaning forward to compress the chest.
• Using a technique called the Valsalva manoeuvre. (The Valsalva manoeuvre means trying to push your breath out while you hold your throat and voice box closed.) The way to do this is to take a deep breath in, then keep the air inside you while pushing with your muscles as if to force the air out. This is like pushing in childbirth or straining on the toilet.

What is the treatment for persistent hiccups?

If an underlying cause is found then treatment of the underlying cause, if possible, may cure the hiccups. For example, one research study found that many people with persistent hiccups had a gut condition called acid reflux. See separate leaflet called Acid Reflux and Oesophagitis for more details. Treating the reflux seemed to help stop hiccups in many cases. Firstly, try any of the popular remedies used to treat short bouts of hiccups (explained above). Also, treat any underlying cause, if possible.

Secondly, medication is sometimes needed to stop persistent hiccups. Various medicines have been used for this. The following medicines may be used for treating adults with hiccups (for children, specialist advice is recommended):

• Chlorpromazine and haloperidol are medicines which can relax the diaphragm muscle or its nerve supply and may stop persistent hiccups.
• For stomach problems such as acid reflux or a stretched (distended) stomach: anti-acid medicines (various types, such as omeprazole or ranitidine) or medicines which help the stomach to empty faster (such as metoclopramide).
• Baclofen – this is a medicine which helps to relax muscles.
• Gabapentin – this can help to relax the nerve supply to the muscle under your lungs that helps you breathe in (the diaphragm).
• Ketamine – an intravenous anaesthetic – is sometimes effective when other treatments have failed.
• Giving a medication called metoclopramide by intravenous injection has been reported to cure hiccups occurring after anaesthetic.
• For people with a terminal illness, sedatives such as midazolam can help to control hiccups and relieve the stress they cause.

Referral to a specialist is often advised for persistent hiccups, either to look for a cause, or to offer more treatment options. Some examples of treatments that have been successfully used for persistent hiccups are:

• Acupuncture or hypnotherapy.
• A device similar to a pacemaker. This is used to stimulate or pace the nerve to the diaphragm (the phrenic nerve) or to stimulate another important nerve in the neck, called the vagus nerve.

For hiccups that continue despite treatment, a phrenic nerve block is occasionally used. This involves interrupting the phrenic nerve – for example, by injecting a local anaesthetic near the nerve. However, this treatment needs to be considered carefully: it carries risks because the phrenic nerve is important in breathing.

Are there any complications of hiccups?

Short bouts of hiccups do not normally cause any problems or complications.

Persistent hiccups may cause complications such as tiredness, exhaustion or poor sleep. Also, they may cause psychological distress or embarrassment. For people who have had recent surgery to the tummy (abdomen), persistent hiccups may delay healing of the scar (wound), because hiccups move the abdominal muscles. This increases the risk of complications with the wound.

Hiccups | Michigan Medicine

Topic Overview

What are hiccups?

Hiccups
occur when a spasm contracts the diaphragm, a large sheet of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. This spasm causes an intake of breath that is suddenly stopped by the closure of the vocal cords (glottis). This closure causes the characteristic “hiccup” sound.

What causes hiccups?

A very full stomach can cause bouts of hiccups that go away on their own. A full stomach can be caused by:

• Eating too much food too quickly.
• Drinking too much alcohol.
• Swallowing too much air.
• Smoking.
• A sudden change in stomach temperature, such as drinking a hot beverage and then a cold beverage.
• Emotional stress or excitement.

How long do hiccups last?

Hiccups usually stop within a few minutes to a few hours.

Hiccups that last longer than 48 hours are called persistent hiccups. Hiccups that last longer than a month are called intractable hiccups. While very rare, intractable hiccups can cause exhaustion, lack of sleep, and weight loss. Both persistent and intractable hiccups may be a sign of a more serious health problem and must be checked by a doctor.

There are many known causes of persistent or intractable hiccups, including:

• Central nervous system problems, such as cancer, infections, stroke, or injury.
• Problems with the chemical processes that take place in the body (metabolic problems), such as decreased kidney function or hyperventilation.
• Irritation of the nerves in the head, neck, and chest (vagus or phrenic nerve).
• Anesthesia or surgery.
• Mental health problems.

How are hiccups treated?

Most bouts of hiccups go away on their own within a few minutes to a few hours and do not require any treatment.

Many home remedies are used to treat hiccups. Most of them involve increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, which usually stops hiccups. Some of these remedies include:

• Holding your breath and counting slowly to 10.
• Quickly drinking a glass of cold water.
• Eating a teaspoon of sugar or honey.

The treatment for persistent or intractable hiccups depends on the underlying cause of the hiccups and may range from medicine to acupuncture or hypnosis. Sometimes several treatments may be tried before persistent or intractable hiccups are controlled. If you have hiccups that last a few days or longer, your doctor may conduct tests to rule out a more serious problem.

Who is affected by hiccups?

Hiccups affect males more often than females. Hiccups occur in practically every human being, including babies and older adults.

Credits

Current as of:
February 26, 2020

Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
William H. Blahd Jr. MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine
Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine
Kathleen Romito MD – Family Medicine

Current as of: February 26, 2020

Author:
Healthwise Staff

Medical Review:William H. Blahd Jr. MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine & Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD – Family Medicine

What causes hiccups? – Scientific American

William A. Whitelaw, a professor in the department of medicine at the University of Calgary, explains.

If a person gets hiccups and wants to know what has set them off, there is a long list of medical or physiological disorders that are associated with hiccups and seem to cause them. The most common by far is distension or expansion of the stomach and movement of stomach acid into the esophagus. After that, a disease or irritation in the thorax could be to blame. Irritation of the phrenic nerve (the nerve to the diaphragm) or the diaphragm is often cited as a cause of hiccups, but this is only speculation about the exact mechanism. Hiccups can also arise from a variety of neurological lesions, many of them involving the brain stem, or some metabolic disorders (particularly renal failure). Medications, often ones that promote acid reflux into the esophagus, and a variety of other disorders have also been linked to hiccups.

In medical practice, however, we do not start looking for any of these causes unless the hiccups are very persistent or if they came on very dramatically for no obvious reason. For ordinary bothersome hiccups that come back or stay longer than usual, treatment for stomach acid reflux is usually offered before other investigations are done.

In regards to the physiological process behind hiccuping, some information and speculations exist, but a complete answer has not yet been determined. A hiccup is not simply a twitch of the diaphragm but a complex motor act. During one, the diaphragm and the complete set of inspiratory muscles (intercostal muscles, neck muscles and others) make a sudden, very strong, contraction. The expiratory muscles are also strongly inhibited. Just after the contraction begins, the glottis (commonly called the vocal cords) clamp shut, making the “hic” sound. Before the diaphragm contracts, the roof of the mouth moves up, as does the back of the tongue, and there is often an associated burp. The heart slows a bit as well. In addition, hiccups are seldom isolated events but tend to recur every few seconds, sometimes for hours.

Together these observations imply that somewhere in the brain we have a “central pattern generator,” or CPG, for hiccups. In other words, there is a neuronal circuit designed for generating hiccups similar to the ones we have for actions such as breathing, coughing and walking. And like most of those CPGs, it is an oscillator: it sends out a recurring, periodic signal to set off a hiccup. We don’t have hiccups all the time, however, so the oscillator must be a “conditional oscillator” that fires only under certain conditions.

Hiccups are seen in a wide variety of animals and are very common in the fetus. They have been recorded physiologically in animal studies and are easily recognized on ultrasounds of human babies. Hiccups appear before breathing movements as the fetus develops and are common in newborns but gradually disappear over the next few months.

These observations suggest that hiccup CPG may be left over from a previous stage in evolution. Searching through the animal kingdom for a recurring, rhythmic activity that resembles a hiccup turns up a few candidates. None of them looks exactly like a hiccup, but that is not really surprising given all the changes that have occurred over the eons. One candidate is the CPG for gasping, which is a sudden inspiration and can be rhythmic. In a recent paper, my colleagues and I argued that a better candidate is the CPG used by tadpoles for gill ventilation. The unique feature of hiccups is a big inspiratory effort while closing the glottis, which completely blocks air from being inspired. Halfway through its development a tadpole has both lungs that breathe air and gills for breathing water. It does not have a diaphragm and cannot suck air into its lungs and instead pushes fluids with its mouth. To breathe air, it fills its mouth cavity with air, then closes its nose, mouth and the passage to the gills and compresses the mouth cavity, forcing the air into its lungs. To breathe water, it fills its mouth with water and then closes the glottis and forces the water out through the gills. The positive pressure pump action of the mouth is synchronous with filling the lung or pushing water through the gills. The gill-breathing tadpole is thus inspiring while closing the glottis, the same action as hiccuping.

Answer originally posted May 3, 2004.

Hiccups and cancer | Coping with cancer

We all have hiccups from time to time. We don’t know the exact cause of hiccups but possible causes include eating and drinking too quickly, over eating, and alcohol.

People with cancer can get them for a number of reasons but it is not a common problem.

Hiccups usually go away on their own but there are some things you can try. If hiccups carry on for a couple of days they can be difficult to cope with. Tell your doctor as you might need treatment.

Hiccups are a common problem that we all have from time to time. For most people, hiccups are usually mild and go away without any medical treatment. But when hiccups are a symptom of cancer, or a side effect of cancer treatment, they can go on for longer. This makes them tiring and difficult to cope with.

Hiccups are uncontrolled spasms of your diaphragm between normal breaths. The diaphragm is the dome shaped muscle under your ribcage. Normally, your diaphragm helps to pull air into your lungs by pulling downwards as you breathe in. And when you breathe out, your diaphragm pushes upwards.

But when you hiccup, 2 things happen:

• your diaphragm contracts and pulls down between your normal breaths, sucking air in
• immediately after this, the top of the windpipe (trachea) closes briefly, to stop more air getting in – this makes the ‘hic’ sound.

Causes of hiccups

We don’t know the exact cause of hiccups. It might happen if the nerve that controls the diaphragm (the phrenic nerve) is irritated.

Things that might trigger hiccups include:

• eating and drinking too quickly, particularly gulping fizzy drinks
• over eating
• heartburn
• stress
• sudden changes in air temperature
• over stretching your neck
• certain drugs, such as medicines to treat anxiety (benzodiazepines)
• alcohol

But if you have cancer you might also get hiccups if:

• your stomach stops working and becomes extended and bloated
• you have an infection affecting your chest or food pipe (oesophagus)
• you are having chemotherapy, steroids or an opioid painkiller such as morphine
• the cancer is pressing on your diaphragm
• you have symptoms because of a brain tumour
• your kidneys are not working normally and your blood chemistry changes
• you have high blood calcium levels (hypercalcaemia)

Things to try for mild hiccups

Most people find that their hiccups go away either on their own or by trying one of the following suggestions:

• gargling or drinking ice water
• eating a piece of dry bread slowly
• drinking water from the far side of a glass – you will need to be able to bend over to do this
• taking a deep breath, holding it for as long as you can and repeating this several times
• sucking on a lemon
• drinking peppermint water
• pulling your knees up to your chest
• breathing in and out of a paper bag (not a plastic one and don’t do this for any longer than 1 minute)

Treatment for more severe hiccups

Some hiccups can last for more than a couple of days. Doctors call these persistent hiccups. If they last longer than a month, doctors call them intractable. If they last this long they can cause other problems, including:

• weight loss
• difficulty in sleeping
• feeling sick (nausea)
• embarrassment
• feeling sad or depressed

People with persistent or intractable hiccups need medical treatment. First, your doctor will try to find out what is causing your hiccups. They may disappear by treating the cause, for example, changing the drugs that may be responsible for the hiccups.

But your doctor may treat the hiccups directly. Drugs they may use include:

• the anti sickness drug metoclopramide (Maxolon)
• a sedative, such as haloperidol or chlorpromazine
• a drug to relax your muscles such as baclofen

90,000 Top 10 causes of hiccups, including deadly ones

Hiccups are generally safe. It is caused by involuntary contractions of the diaphragm ^{, a large muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities.}

Normally, the diaphragm allows us to breathe. As it moves downward, the ribcage expands and the lungs are able to draw in air. We breathe in. When it rises up, it forces air out of the lungs. Exhalation occurs.

The brain controls the movements of the diaphragm.But sometimes its signals fail, and the diaphragm begins to involuntarily contract. With each spasm, the lungs push air out of themselves, it exits through the larynx and closes the glottis and epiglottis. This process is accompanied by a characteristic sound – hiccups.

Physiologists still do not quite understand why sometimes the brain goes crazy on such a simple movement as inhalation and exhalation. However, it was still possible to establish some factors that can trigger hiccups. Let’s say right away: sometimes hiccups are a dangerous signal.

When you need to see a doctor urgently

Experts of the reputable research organization Mayo Clinic name ^{two symptoms with which you need to see a therapist as soon as possible:}

• hiccups lasting 48 hours or more;
• The hiccups are shorter, but so tiring that they prevent you from eating, drinking, sleeping or breathing.

No ambulance required. Even in the above situations, hiccups by themselves are not fatal.However, it can be a sign of serious diseases that are important to diagnose in time.

Why do people hiccup

Most often, hiccups go away on their own after a few minutes. Such hiccups are called short-term. However, it will be considered short-term even if, with or without interruptions, it lasts up to two days. But if you hiccup for longer, we are talking about long-term or persistent hiccups.

Causes of short-term hiccups

1. Drinking carbonated drinks.
2. Overkill with alcohol.
3. Overeating.
4. Sudden change in ambient temperature. For example, when you go out of the house to the wind or, conversely, return from the cold to a warm office or apartment.
5. Eating too hot (optional spicy) or cold food.
6. Excitement, excitement, fear, stress.
7. Accidental ingestion of air. This happens when you chew gum or lick hard candy.

Causes of persistent hiccups

Hiccups that last more than two days can be caused by dozens of factors.Not to be listed separately, they are grouped into three categories.

1. Irritation or damage to the nerves

We are talking about the vagus or phrenic nerves – those that control the movement of the diaphragm. Damage or irritation can be caused by:

• Hair, pieces of dirt, or other objects (such as small insects) that get caught in the ear and touch the eardrum.
• Tumor, cyst, goiter in the neck region.
• Laryngitis. This is the name of the inflammation of the mucous membranes of the larynx.Most often it is associated with colds or infectious diseases like measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever.
• Heartburn. She is also gastroesophageal reflux, in which acidic gastric juice enters the esophagus and irritates its walls.

2. Disorders of the central nervous system (CNS)

Infection, swelling, damage to the central nervous system due to various kinds of injuries – all this can lead to involuntary spasms of the diaphragm. Here are just a few examples of diseases that fall into this category:

• meningitis;
• encephalitis;
• traumatic brain injury;
• stroke;
• multiple sclerosis;
• brain tumors – both benign and malignant (cancer).

3. Metabolic diseases and taking certain medications

The following factors can provoke persistent hiccups:

• diabetes;
• kidney disease;
• electrolyte imbalance;
• uncontrolled use of tranquilizers, steroids, barbiturates, pain relievers;
• alcoholism.

What to do with hiccups

If we are talking about short-term hiccups, then nothing. It will go away by itself in 2-3 minutes.There are ways to shorten this period, Lifehacker wrote about them in detail here. Choose the one you like and go for it.

In case of persistent hiccups, consultation with a therapist is required. The doctor will conduct an examination and, based on the results, will send you to a specialized specialist – for example, an otolaryngologist, to remove a foreign object from the ear or stop developing laryngitis. Or he will prescribe additional tests that will help to get to the bottom of the true causes of hiccups.

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What diseases will hiccups tell about?

What is a hiccup?

“Hiccup? – So they remember you!” – my grandmother told me.However, neither the man himself, tormented by hiccups, nor those around him rejoice in such “memories.”

Spasm in the solar plexus, where one of the largest muscles of the human body, the diaphragm, spreads like a parachute canopy. Involuntary compression of the muscles of the larynx, a click in the throat, spasm – and here they are, unpleasant convulsive hiccups, similar to the sobbing of an offended gastrointestinal tract.

Hiccups can last for several hours, without giving a person the opportunity to stop this process by an effort of will.It can be so painful that there is a desire to “pass on”, to get rid of these spasms at any cost. “Hiccup-hiccup, go to Fedot, from Fedot-to Yakov, from Yakov to everyone.”

Causes of hiccups

The most common cause of adult hiccups is, oddly enough, alcohol addiction. Let’s imagine a fun feast, songs, loud conversations, toasts, someone shouts: “Penalty! In a volley! Drink to the bottom, drink to the bottom “! When alcohol is consumed in one gulp, in large gulps, excess air is swallowed, and the stomach becomes like a balloon.A swollen stomach presses on the diaphragm, gases expand, painfully stretch its walls and the body seeks to expel excess airiness. Such hiccups start quickly and pass just as quickly, being a completely physiological method of self-regulation.

Prolonged and plentiful intake of alcohol slowly destroys the body of an initially healthy person. The nervous tissue suffers – literally “gets drunk”, and alcoholic polyneuropathy is formed. The pathways of nerve impulses to all muscles, similar for a healthy person to high-speed autobahns, literally turn into narrow paths on which the impulse loses its strength and does not always reach the targeted muscle tissue.The muscles that support our internal organs are the first to weaken.

Imagine a gate in an abandoned cottage, the springs have come off, the tree has grown decrepit, and only the wind slams the door, causing the melancholy sounds of autumn, emptiness and abandonment. This is how the muscles of the larynx slam inside us with loose doors, causing hiccups.

Everyone knows that the liver of a drinking person suffers – the detoxification function weakens, and the liver increases in size, mending the damaged areas with dysfunctional connective tissue.The enlarged liver presses on the diaphragm, trying to flatten its dome. The diaphragm reflexively contracts, trying again and again to push the unexpected burden. The spasm from the diaphragm to the muscles of the larynx seems to push out the very lump in the throat that patients with alcohol experience complain about.

Hiccups can be of another nature, not related to alcohol intake: pregnancy 2-3 trimesters, hypothermia, increased intracranial pressure, compression of the phrenic nerve, stress, hunger, thirst, eating in large chunks or sips, eating dry and on the run.

During pregnancy, a large uterus presses on the diaphragm, in addition, contractions are stimulated by active movements of the fetus. The uterus sometimes grips the phrenic nerve like a joystick in an old computer game, causing more and more series of muscle contractions. In this case, there is only one radical way to get rid of hiccups: a successful birth.

Unfortunately, the mechanism of compression of the phrenic nerve or the dome of the diaphragm itself is not always so joyful: it can be tumors of the stomach and mediastinum, anomalies of anatomical development.This is rare, but prolonged and unreasonable hiccups require examination to rule out serious diseases.

With hypothermia, muscle spasm occurs under the influence of low temperatures: freezing smooth muscles shrink into a lump, hiding from the cold. Infant hiccups are most often associated with hypothermia.

Hiccup as a sign of danger

Incessant hiccups for two or more hours is an indication for hospitalization. Prolonged hiccups, in which conventional self-help means are ineffective, is regarded as a symptom of serious diseases: pathological alcohol or drug intoxication, encephalitis, intervertebral hernia of the cervical spine, traumatic brain injury, stroke, tumor of the posterior cranial fossa, neck, stomach or mediastinum.

Fighting Hiccups: Wrong Strategies

In the United States, there lived a certain Charles Osborne, who hiccuped continuously for 68 years and got into the Guinness Book of Records in this regard. But you do not seek to overshadow his sad glory?

Better to use hiccups methods based on real knowledge of physiology. So you should not blindly trust such recommendations as pressing on the diaphragm area, taking cold liquid in large sips, using spirits and beer. These actions underlie the formation of hiccups, in this case it is useless to knock out a wedge by a wedge.You do not need to drink any liquid while lying down or upside down – you can choke and even choke on water trapped in your upper respiratory tract.

The same risk applies to an unconscious person who has had an attack of hiccups. It is possible to throw the contents of the stomach into the trachea and bronchi, which leads to the formation of a formidable complication – Mendelssohn’s syndrome. This “march” sounds like a funeral one, since aspiration alveolitis has a high mortality rate. To avoid this, turn the hiccuping person on their side.

Mystical methods of getting rid of hiccups cannot help either: sudden fright, conspiracy, bandages with a harsh thread on the forehead and wrists, money bet or lively conversation. The point is not only that they do not have a scientific basis. These traditions were associated not with hiccups in our usual sense, but with a mental illness characteristic of some regions of central Russia – hiccups. It was believed that after drinking the charmed water, the patient swallowed the devil, which made him cry, scream.swear with obscene words, roll on the ground. It is possible that against the background of hysterical crying and stress, vegetative symptoms also appeared, the phrenic nerve was irritated, and the sufferer also hiccupped loudly and often.

How to deal with hiccups

Isolated spasms go away spontaneously, but getting rid of periodic attacks of hiccups is not easy. Hiccups may be accompanied by belching (the same wave of spastic contractions pushes part of the stomach contents upward), and then the quality of life decreases more significantly.

It is necessary to achieve relaxation of spasmodic muscles and calm removal of excess gases from the stomach. For this, one of the following means is used:

• Straighten up, make a slow, calm exhale. Leisurely chew a piece of dry brown bread
• Put a teaspoon of granulated sugar into your mouth and chew it slowly.
• Put a lemon wedge in your mouth, or chew on a cranberry
• With a teaspoon, slowly drink half a glass of water with 1 drop of peppermint oil
• Straighten up with your hands behind your back.While inhaling, hold your breath, slowly count to 10-15 counts and exhale slowly
• Inhale, press a tight bag to your mouth and nose. Exhale into the bag and then inhale again from the

bag

• Put dry heat on the diaphragm area, warm the patient

If traditional methods do not have an effect, you can take one of the following drugs yourself: Rennie, cerucal (metaclopramide), 10-15 drops of volocardine (corvalol) in half a glass of water.

There are contraindications.It is necessary to consult a specialist.

In the case of an attack that does not stop for 2 or more hours, you should consult a therapist. You will be assigned diagnostic tests and prescription drugs.

Hiccups can be cured during the treatment of the underlying disease. So, a leaky gate cannot be repaired without completely restoring the gate to the old cottage. Strengthening smooth muscles, relieving spasms – all this prevents the development of hiccups.

Hiccup? Someone remembers you! Maybe your body is asking you to take care of it?

Baby hiccups – reasons what to do

Hiccups is a nonspecific dysfunction of external respiration resulting from a series of convulsive contractions of the diaphragm of a jerky nature.Parents are often interested in what to do if a child hiccups, and whether it is dangerous. When it comes to babies, many mothers are sure that this is due solely to hypothermia, and they try to wrap the baby warmly. However, according to doctors, hiccups are a fairly harmless and quickly passing phenomenon. The reasons that cause it can be varied, and only in rare cases, hiccups are a reason to see a doctor.

Causes of hiccups

According to Dr. Komarovsky, the reason that the child hiccups is the twitching of the diaphragm.This can be caused by the fact that the air or gas is propping up the stomach, which, in turn, irritates the diaphragm. In newborn babies, this is more common among those who are bottle-fed.

However, babies sometimes breastfeed on demand as well. In most cases, this is due to prolonged feedings (up to half an hour) or in cases where the milk is very fatty. Normally, a healthy baby needs 15 minutes to satisfy hunger and no more than 10 minutes to satisfy the sucking reflex.In addition, too long and frequent feedings can damage the entire digestive system.

With normal weight gain and adequate drinking regimen, gas in the upper intestine may be the reason a baby hiccups after eating. They put pressure on the stomach, pushing it up. Because of the discomfort in the intestines, the baby tries to tighten the abdominal muscles and release gas, and as a result, it affects the diaphragm and begins to hiccup.

Another reason why a baby hiccups after eating is if air gets into the stomach when sucking too actively.It presses on the thin walls of the digestive organ, causing hiccups.

Also, Dr. Komarovsky believes that the child often hiccups not from hypothermia, as many parents think, but due to adaptation to changes in ambient temperature. Therefore, in the absence of other evidence that the baby is cold, it is not necessary to wrap him up more than necessary.

In addition, any emotional shock (many strangers, loud noises or sudden switching on of the light) is stressful for the newborn and the reason that the baby hiccups.Also, hiccups can be caused by a failure in the rhythm of breathing.

What to do if a child hiccups after eating

If the baby often hiccups after feeding, the following recommendations should be considered:

• On artificial feeding – you need to take care of the correct drinking regime. If this does not help, you need to consult a pediatrician and try a different mixture. Also, to avoid air entering the stomach, pediatricians recommend using special anti-colic bottles;
• Breastfeeding – Breastfeeding mothers are advised to drink more fluids and not abuse fat-containing foods.This will make the milk less greasy, which will help you avoid overeating.

In cases where the baby hiccups after feeding, it is necessary: ​​

• Hold it upright. The “column” position helps the accumulated gaziks to move away easier and faster, which will eliminate the cause of the hiccups;
• Give water to the baby;
• Pat on the tummy. The clockwise circular motion stimulates digestion and also helps to even out breathing.

A good preventive measure to help improve digestion and prevent gas formation is to lay the baby on its tummy before feeding.

As a rule, if a child does not hiccup often, this is not a reason to see a doctor. However, the examination is recommended in cases where:

• Hiccups last more than an hour;
• In addition to hiccups, swallowing disorders and general malaise are noted.

In other cases, hiccups are a normal physiological phenomenon that does not require medical intervention. According to Dr. Komarovsky, freezing and hungry children grow up the healthiest.Therefore, if a child hiccups, it is worth, first of all, not to try to dress them warmer, but to reconsider the feeding regime. In addition to the fact that in this case the risk of hiccups is significantly reduced, this will have a positive effect on the health of the baby as a whole.

Source:
http://www.neboleem.net/stati-o-detjah/7177-rebenok-ikaet.php

Baby hiccups after eating

When they hear a newborn’s hiccuping for the first time after feeding, many mothers start to worry. Don’t panic, watch your child.Find out when the hiccups start, the duration of it and after what your actions (or spontaneously) pass. You will find special baby bottles with an anti-colic system in the Daughters-Son online store, which prevents air from entering the child’s intestines when feeding.

Causes of hiccups

Hiccups are a jerky contraction of the diaphragm, manifested by a temporary violation of the function of external respiration. The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the chest and abdomen.If this phenomenon begins immediately after eating, there may be several reasons:

• overeating, if the baby drank a lot of milk or formula, then the full stomach begins to press on the diaphragm, which reacts to this by contraction;
• aerophagia – swallowing large amounts of air while feeding. If you are breastfeeding, make sure that the baby is properly gripping the nipple; with artificial feeding, the reason may be too large a hole in the nipple;
• intestinal distension, he presses on the diaphragm, which begins to contract.

In order for the baby to stop hiccuping, the baby needs to be picked up and held vertically with a column, pressing the tummy towards you. This promotes the release of excess air from the stomach. You can also drink some water.

The causes of hiccups may not be related to food intake, but coincidentally coincide with this process. Sometimes babies begin to hiccup from overexcitement (laughed a lot, scared) or hypothermia. In such cases, the child needs to be picked up, patted on the head (tactile contact is very important), calm down, talk affectionately or dress warmly.

Important!

If the attacks of hiccups are prolonged and frequent, and the child is restless at the same time, it is worth showing the baby to the doctor in order to exclude serious intestinal diseases or pneumonia, which can cause hiccups in newborns.

Conclusions

Hiccups are rarely a symptom of any disease. It is enough to calm the child down and give him some water, after that everything usually goes away quickly. To prevent this phenomenon, try not to overfeed your baby.For mixes and water, buy double-valve bottles that keep air inside and not move with food or water into your baby’s body.

Source:
http://blog.dochkisinochki.ru/articles/rebenok-ikaet-posle-edy/

Why does a baby hiccup after feeding

To understand why a baby hiccups, you need to understand what a hiccup is. Between the chest and abdominal cavity in the human body there is a dividing muscle – the diaphragm, which is very mobile and sensitive in infants.When any stimulus begins to affect the child’s diaphragm, it begins to contract convulsively, due to which the vocal muscles involuntarily close and the sounds characteristic of hiccups appear.

Causes of hiccups after eating

In most cases, hiccups after feeding appear for some time and very soon disappear on their own. From the point of view of physiology, such a phenomenon is quite normal for a child’s body, and you should not worry about it.

But there are factors due to which the baby almost always hiccups after eating:

1. The most common of these is the ingestion of air into the digestive tract. The resulting portion of air during sucking fills the baby’s stomach with oxygen, which begins to press on the diaphragm and cause it to contract. This kind of hiccups is harmless to babies.
2. Slightly less often, a child hiccups after overeating. The constant worries of mothers about whether the baby received enough milk during feeding, as a rule, have the opposite effect, the baby eats more than he needs.Because of this, the walls of the stomach stretch, which begins to press on the diaphragm and provoke hiccups. To save your baby from this type of hiccups, it is enough to reduce the portion size. But if it is very easy to do this with artificial feeding, then with breastfeeding, in order to prevent overeating, several factors must be taken into account. Why is it best to feed your baby on every request, and not on schedule? The fact is that between meals by the clock, enough time can pass so that the baby has time to get really hungry.A small children’s stomach cannot hold a large volume of milk, which the baby will greedily swallow as soon as he is allowed access to the breast. The result is overeating, stomach distension and hiccups.
3. Hiccups in infants after feeding may appear due to the accumulation of gas. In newborns, in the first three months of life, the gastrointestinal tract system is very poorly developed. What can be the cause of bloating, intestinal cramps and hiccups after feeding.

Other causes of hiccups

The baby does not always hiccup due to feeding with milk, even if the diaphragm began to contract immediately after eating.It may just be a coincidence, but in fact one of the following factors provoked the hiccuping:

• An overabundance of emotions. The children’s nervous system cannot be called stable, which is why babies do not need to become aroused in a matter of seconds, for example, due to fear of a stranger, a change of scenery or every sharp unexpected sound. Anxiety leads first to a spasm of the diaphragm, and then to its convulsive contractions.
• Hypothermia. Babies, due to the underdeveloped system of thermoregulation in their body, are not able to maintain their body temperature, which is why they are constantly freezing.To understand whether a child is overcooled or not, it is enough to touch his hands: cold – the baby is frozen, warm – everything is in order.

Measures to prevent hiccups

Before you start getting rid of hiccups, you should understand why it has arisen, but there are universal preventive measures that prevent convulsive contraction of the diaphragm.

1. You need to feed babies in small portions at their first request.
2. If hot flushing is observed, express some liquid foremilk before feeding.
3. Control your baby’s breastfeeding technique. It should completely capture the halo. When bottle feeding, hold the bottle so that the nipple is completely filled with the formula.
4. Try to calm your baby as much as possible before feeding.
5. Try to prevent hypothermia of the baby, if it does happen, keep him warm.
6. If you are breastfeeding, try to follow a special diet that should not include foods that cause gas.

How to get rid of a baby from hiccups

If the child is already hiccupping, take him in your arms, tightly put his tummy to you. He will feel your warmth and care, he will calm down, and you will notice how very soon his colic will pass, excess air will come out, and the hiccups will stop.

You can give your baby some plain water, which is very helpful for prolonged hiccups.

If the diaphragm does not stop shrinking within two days, you should definitely consult a doctor, since such prolonged attacks of hiccups can cause a serious illness that cannot be diagnosed without additional tests.

Source:
http://grudnichky.ru/pitanie/grudnichok-ikaet-posle-kormleniya.html

What to do if a child has hiccups: pediatrician advice

Hiccups are a short-term (normal) or pathological disturbance of even external breathing, during which contractions of the diaphragm, short respiratory tremors and movements are observed. All parents faced this normal physiological situation. But what to do if a newborn hiccups, why the hiccups begin, few know.This will be discussed in our article.

From this article you will learn

Reasons

Hiccups in newborns are more often a normal reaction to irritating factors than a pathology. It does not cause any particular inconvenience to children and passes quickly.

The culprits of a temporary breathing defect can be:

• Hypothermia. The diaphragm contracts convulsively when the baby is cold.
• Thirst. The baby hiccups due to the drying out of the oral mucosa.
• Excessive air in the stomach. The baby captures air during bottle drinking and breastfeeding. It lingers in the esophagus and stomach, tries to go outside, which causes hiccups.
• Colic and bloating. The intestines, swollen from gas, press on the diaphragm.
• Overeating. The stomach stretches unnecessarily, oppresses the lower edge of the ribs.
• Fright. Strong emotions cause tension in the abdominal muscles.
• Polluted air. Nicotine, dust, allergens in the air provoke swelling of the mucous membrane, its drying out, resulting in a hiccup attack.

If a child often hiccups and the diaphragm contracts intensively for more than 5-10 minutes several times a day, we can talk about diseases of the immune or nervous system. In this case, the cause of hiccups lies in the following congenital and acquired pathologies:

• GERD. This is acid reflux. Congenital pathology of the development of the gastrointestinal tract. Food cannot be retained in the stomach, it is ejected into the esophagus and provokes hiccups, regurgitation, vomiting, and abdominal pain after feedings. In the first months of life, GERD is often confused with colic.
• Disruption of the nerve centers. They are provoked by brain and spinal cord injuries, fetal hypoxia during delivery.

Hiccups in different situations

Hiccups occur in a small child in the most unexpected situations: in a dream, from the cold, while feeding, after laughing, in conversation. Let’s figure out the reasons for each of them.

Baby hiccups during sleep or after waking up

Sleep for newborns is an inactive phase of growth and development.All organs, except the thyroid gland, rest, and the main hormonal gland produces a large amount of hormones necessary for the maturation of the baby.

Hiccup in a dream interrupts this process, the baby wakes up due to a sharp muscle contraction, may cry from fright. Typically, the spasm of the diaphragm at night lasts no more than 15 minutes and goes away on its own. It is not necessary to stop it with water or feeding.

This situation can be explained as follows:

• The baby hiccups in his sleep because of the cold.Thermoregulation in children under one and a half years of age is imperfect. The child could freeze, wet himself, lean against the cold side of the bed. To get rid of nocturnal hiccups, warm the baby, put on dry and warm pajamas, change the diaper, and wear the baby in your arms.
• Baby is thirsty. If the room is hot, heating systems work, the mucous membrane dries quickly.

Lack of moisture in the mouth causes hiccups. Give the crumbs some warm water and put them to bed.

Baby hiccups after laughing

This problem is unlikely to affect a one-week-old baby, hiccups after laughing are found in babies at the age of 4–5 months.From a physiological point of view, laughter is an involuntary movement of the muscles of the body and face with the simultaneous pronunciation of specific sounds.

The work of the respiratory system also changes during laughter. The child takes a deep breath, the nerve is clamped on the diaphragm, the air remains inside. For exhalation, the chest produces sharp jerks. If the air is partially released, the nerve will not relax completely, and hiccups will begin. The attack does not last long. Give some water to the child after he has laughed and calmed down.

Baby hiccups in conversation

It so happens that a two-month-old baby wants to gag and starts to hiccup violently. Involuntary spasms are caused by a strong inhalation before articulation. The baby cannot exhale all the air, he expands his chest, the diaphragm contracts.

Some children, when hiccuping in conversation, kick their legs and fidget, air comes out along with belching and food debris.

This is normal. Articulation will be easier after verticalization of the baby, closer to 6-7 months.

Infant hiccups during and after feeding

Severe hiccups after and during feeding are a sign of errors in caring for the newborn. The mother needs to pay attention to the position during the baby’s meals, how many times a day she feeds the baby and the volume of the mixture drunk. Hiccuping is common in babies who are not properly handled to give a breast or a bottle when they overeat.

You won’t have to relieve hiccups if mothers follow simple rules:

• The baby’s head should be raised during feeding, you can lie on the pillow or on the mother’s arms.
• Let your body sit freely, you don’t need to squeeze your tummy, chest, or squeeze your legs. Let the child lie down as it is convenient and comfortable for him.
• No nervousness during feeding. It is better if both are calm: mom and baby.
• The baby must completely grip the nipple or silicone nipple. It will be impossible to swallow air this way.
• Do not enlarge the hole for the fast flow of the mixture. The liquid shouldn’t run fast.
• If there is a lot of milk in the breast, the baby cannot cope with its flow, the mother needs to express a little the next time.
• Do not forcefully remove the nipple from your baby’s mouth. He will let go of the breast himself when he is full.
• Don’t take too long between meals. A hungry baby grabs a bottle or nipple greedily, so he swallows air with food.
• Do not force a baby to eat if he cries or hiccups.

Better to calm down and play first.

If your baby hiccups after every feed, behaves restlessly all day, refuses to eat, seek medical attention.

Hiccups after regurgitation

Regurgitation of a small amount of milk after feeding is a normal physiological process for children under one year old, sometimes up to one and a half. This is how excess food and air comes out. This facilitates the digestion process, the child will not be tormented by colic and bloating.

If a newborn hiccups after spitting up, it means that he swallowed a lot of air while sucking at the breast, food remained in the esophagus and prevents air from leaving.You need to hold the baby in your arms vertically for 1-2 minutes, do not give a drink. There is no need to consult a doctor in such situations.

Baby hiccups after bath, while changing clothes

Cold is the culprit in the contraction of the diaphragm muscles. Wipe your baby dry right in the bathroom, do not change clothes with open windows.

The fight for warmth should not be fierce. Cool air and air baths are beneficial for newborns to harden at home. It is necessary to stop hiccups from hypothermia with the help of warm clothes, water or another feeding in the correct position in the mother’s arms.

Baby hiccups all day

You can just laugh and say that a loving grandmother remembers the baby all day, according to popular belief, but prolonged hiccups give babies a lot of inconvenience.

The crumb cannot eat, sleep, play properly.

Hiccuping no more than an hour 1-3 times a day up to six months or a year is considered the norm and is explained by the imperfection of the work of children’s internal organs. If the symptoms of hiccups do not disappear for a long time, the condition lasts for several days, the problem must be dealt with in conjunction with a doctor.In the first 1-2 days, you can try to revise the diet of the mother and baby, make sure that the baby does not overcool.

Source:
http://razvitie-vospitanie.ru/zdorovie/ikota_u_novorojdennix.html

Hiccups in newborns after feeding

Young parents are regularly haunted by fears for the health of their newborn baby. Responsible mothers carefully monitor the crumbs’ stool, the temperature of his body. Hiccups after feeding are often a concern for inexperienced parents.Their desire to find out the cause of the process and the consequences is fully justified.

Possible causes of infant hiccups after feeding

The causes of a baby’s hiccups after a meal are often similar to those of an adult. The newborn may hiccup after feeding due to factors:

• During a meal, the baby captures excess air. It fills a tiny stomach and stretches the organ, pressure on the diaphragm occurs, breathing is disturbed – a reflex contraction of the diaphragm occurs.
• Large portions of breast milk, formula stretch the baby’s stomach, which provokes the process in the baby.
• Muscle strain.
• Thirst and dry mouth.
• ARI, helminthiasis and diseases that can irritate the diaphragm.
• Immaturity of internal organs.

A month-old baby often suffers, with a diaphragm not adapted to the external environment. Nasal congestion prevents the breast from sucking properly, and air is swallowed.Vasoconstrictor drops prescribed by a doctor will help to avoid violations.

Air

With the frequent occurrence of reflex contraction of the diaphragm after breastfeeding, it is necessary to take a closer look at how the child eats food. If the nipple is not completely covered by the mouth, and the breast does not fit snugly against the mouth, it is likely that the baby is trapping air when swallowing. Air bubbles enter the baby’s stomach with food.

In a bottle-fed baby, air can enter due to the large opening in the nipple.

Overeating

More often, overeating is the cause of the phenomenon in breastfed babies. The baby is consuming a large amount of milk. Food expands the stomach. The digestive organ puts pressure on the diaphragm. The baby spits up and hiccups. The reflex occurs not once, but after each feeding, if the volume of milk exceeds the norm.

In artificial people, the process and the amount of nutrition is controllable. Observing the norm for the newborn, the mother will prevent the phenomenon.

Factors provoking overfeeding:

• Eating food on schedule. The baby wants to eat earlier than feeding time. In the next reception, the baby will greedily swallow the mixture or milk, quickly filling the stomach.
• Large volume of breast milk from the mother. An abundance of foremilk, which often comes out with a strong pressure, contributes to the saturation of the newborn before the baby gets to healthy fatty milk.

Intestinal gases

Gases in the intestines of a newborn cause colic and abdominal pain, belching.The reason is the appearance of gas in the intestines, if breastfeeding is carried out by the mother’s improper nutrition. If the baby feeds on a mixture, it is recommended to replace the mixture, in consultation with a pediatrician.

First Aid

Hiccups are not a disease or a sign of pathology. This is a temporary phenomenon that occurs in newborns and stops after a few minutes without parental intervention. If the contraction of the diaphragm is uncomfortable, frightens the newborn, or prevents the baby from falling asleep, you can take action.

Reflex contraction of the diaphragm after eating does not pose a threat to the health of children and rarely indicates pathology, but sometimes causes discomfort in newborns and their parents. When a symptom occurs, young parents rarely know what to do. If the little one began to hiccup after feeding, it is recommended to take the baby in his arms, giving the body an upright position. The position of the column will allow the baby to regurgitate excess food and air.

Light massage in the area of ​​the collarbone will help remove the reflex.If the symptom persists, it is recommended to give warm fennel tea or boiled water.

Severe hiccups can occur in a bottle-fed baby – you need to make sure that the mixture is suitable. Bloating, flatulence and colic will help eliminate special medications for newborns. Espumisan, Sub-simplex – drugs allowed from the first days of life.

The phenomenon does not require treatment, if the event scares the newborn, causes discomfort or interferes with sleep, you can take action:

• Give warm liquid, apply to breast.
• Put a warm towel on the crumbs’ stomach.
• The parent can hold the baby upright until the burp occurs.

A gentle tummy massage helps to eliminate gas. Circular stroking in a clockwise direction will help the spasms subside. Dill seed tea, chamomile tea eliminate gas formation. If methods have not worked, a neonatal gas tube may be needed.

When to see a doctor

If the contraction of the diaphragm occurs constantly after eating and lasts more than an hour, the baby is crying and restless – you need to consult a doctor for advice.Only a doctor can determine the cause of the reflex. Serious illnesses rarely provoke a symptom in an infant, but they should not be completely ruled out. Liver pathologies, lung diseases, dysfunction of the spinal cord and brain – can cause contraction of the diaphragm after eating and at any time.

The pediatrician, after listening to the parents, will direct the child to an ultrasound examination of internal organs. Ultrasound will help identify pathologies of the baby’s gastrointestinal tract.

In case of malfunctioning of the brain or spinal cord, a consultation with a neurologist is required.

What Dr. Komarovsky advises

The well-known doctor Komarovsky believes that hiccups in babies are normal, and medical attention is needed if the hiccups in babies last more than three hours, and abdominal pains are present along the way. The pediatrician is convinced that hypothermia is rarely the cause of hiccups; rather, there is an adaptation to the ambient temperature.

As methods of dealing with the phenomenon, the pediatrician recommends giving the newborn water to drink, normalizing the humidity level in the room, or going for a walk with the baby.

Prevention

It is not difficult to prevent the appearance of hiccups after each meal, having found out the cause of the phenomenon. Overeating, as the cause of the reflex, is easily eliminated by reducing the portion of the mixture or reducing the time the baby is applied to the breast.

It is recommended to put the baby on his stomach before eating. It is important to correct the position of the crumbs during meals so that air does not enter with breast milk. It may be necessary to hold the baby at an angle, or press it closer to the breast.The baby should grasp the areola around the nipple for more effective sucking.

It is important to be quiet during feeding so that the newborn is not distracted. Light, noise can scare the child, distract from eating and provoke the swallowing of air.

If there is a large amount of foremilk, a part of the mother needs to be expressed so that the baby can consume fatty hind milk in the required amount. It is better to feed the baby on demand, but reduce the portion.

Mom should adjust nutrition by removing foods that cause gas formation from the diet.Fried foods, legumes, raw fruits and vegetables are not recommended.

In babies taking food from a bottle, the cause may be in the nipple. There is a wide range of anti-colic bottles and teats with a valve on the market, which prevent the baby from trapping air and restrict the flow of the mixture. After the mixture, the baby may hiccup if the mother significantly exceeds the required amount of food. It is contraindicated to give more food than the child’s age should be.

It is not recommended to lay the baby down immediately after eating.It is better to hold the newborn upright for a few minutes, waiting for the burp.

All newborn babies, and especially babies under one month old, hiccup. Often, the reflex contraction of the diaphragm begins after eating. With age, the violation is less likely to manifest itself if the parents follow the rules for feeding the baby, avoiding overeating. Frequent and prolonged hiccups may indicate pathology. In this case, you need to consult a doctor in order to establish the cause and eliminate it in time.

Source:
http://gastrotract.ru/simptom/ikaet/ikota-u-novorozhdyonnyh-posle-kormleniya.html

90,000 Myths and Science: How to Defeat Hiccups?

• Claudia Hammond
• BBC Fututre

30 March 2016

Photo author, Thinkstock

Sign up to photo,

Sticking out your tongue as much as possible – this also often helps

Holding your breath or trying some exotic and rude way? BBC Future talks about how to stop hiccups on your own and why these methods work.

As soon as someone starts to hiccup, everyone starts to scare the unfortunate person, offer him to hold his breath and give a lot of other advice. What are the ways to beat hiccups supported by scientific evidence?

Hiccups are a consequence of a spasm of the diaphragm, causing air to flow into the lungs, which, in turn, causes a sharp closure of the vocal cords with a characteristic “hic” sound. There are more than a hundred reasons for hiccups – in most cases, quite harmless. For example, it can be medication-related – some anesthetics and steroids, drugs prescribed for Parkinson’s disease, and chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer can provoke hiccups.But, as a rule, this is not the case. Laughter, alcohol abuse, or hastily swallowing food or soda can also lead to hiccups – and sometimes it even occurs on its own, without any reason.

It doesn’t do without extremes. It is believed that the world record for the duration of hiccups belongs to an American named Charles Osborne: an attack of hiccups began in 1922 (according to available data, at that time he was trying to weigh a pig), and stopped only 68 years later – in February 1990.

Fortunately, hiccups can usually be stopped using simpler methods – however, the debate over which one is the most effective is still ongoing.

The bulk of folk remedies affect one of two mechanisms. The first group includes methods aimed at increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, which is designed to weaken the spasm of the diaphragm, for example, holding your breath or breathing through a paper bag.

Sometimes these methods are effective, but scientists still do not really understand what their effect is.Some believe that this allows you to switch attention to the problem of increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, while others suggest that it is the lack of this gas that is one of the causes of hiccups, therefore, its replenishment allows you to stop the attack.

Nervous hiccup

An alternative way to combat hiccups is to stimulate the vagus nerve, which connects the head to the abdominal region and is responsible for coordinating breathing and swallowing. This nerve is involved in the hiccuping process, which can be interrupted by a certain action on the nerve, as a result of which it begins to send signals to the brain about the appearance of a new sensation.

This group includes tips for drinking water, chewing lemon or putting crushed ice in your mouth. To stimulate the vagus nerve, you can also stick out your tongue, insert your fingers into your ears, or apply light pressure to your eyeballs. In essence, this is an attempt to distract the body from the hiccups by switching attention to some unexpected event. Attempts to stop the hiccups by scaring the sufferer are based on the same logic.

Author of the photo, Thinkstock

Pidpis to the photo,

There are also such radical means of fighting hiccups that are not suitable for use at home.Or is it just the opposite?

There is one more radical remedy, which, perhaps, is not suitable for use at home. It was introduced by Francis Fesmire, a professor at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine (USA). The essence of the method is clear from the title of his scientific work, published in 1988, – “Termination of intractable hiccups by massage of the rectum.”

It all started when a man came to the emergency room with a complaint of hiccups, which lasted for three days with an interval of two seconds.The doctor forced the patient to open his mouth wide, pressed on his eyeballs, but nothing helped. After trying all the remedies, Fesmire remembered the material he read last year about how the doctor managed to stop the accelerated heartbeat in a 71-year-old woman by inserting a finger into her anus. This remedy also helped the hiccuping patient.

However, having received a parody of the Shnobel Prize for his discovery, Fesmire said that the same effect can most likely be achieved through orgasm, and most patients would probably prefer this method.Both of these approaches also aim to stimulate the vagus nerve.

Most of the folk remedies for getting rid of hiccups do not really have scientific evidence. However, the mechanisms on which they are based are consistent with our knowledge of her physiology; moreover, all of these methods are considered harmless. None of them are universal, which is why they are so numerous, but all of them are not just idle fiction. Start to hiccup – feel free to try any of them.

• Limitation of Liability.All information contained in this article is provided for general information only and should not be considered as an alternative to the advice of your healthcare professional or other healthcare professional. The BBC is not responsible for the information posted on external sites linked to in this article and does not endorse any commercial products or services mentioned or recommended on any of these sites. If you have any health problems, contact your physician immediately.
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  the original of this article in English can be found on the website

  BBC Future.

Hiccups in adults and children. How to stop hiccups – clinic “Dobrobut”

Causes of hiccups in adults and children, how to get rid of

Hiccups in children and adults are often perceived as normal. But you need to know that in some cases it can be a sign of serious pathological problems. With constant and prolonged hiccups, a doctor’s consultation is necessary.A pediatrician will help to understand the causes of this problem in a child. Adults are advised to consult a neurologist.

Causes of hiccups

If the problem touches the child and bothers him regularly, then it is necessary to exclude the pathology and only then look for the cause. Perhaps the child just overeat, but the hiccups in newborns may be associated with an imperfect connection between the diaphragm and the brain or swallowing air during feeding. The problem can begin with hypothermia, so babies need to be dressed somewhat warmer than an adult.

Hiccups in adults may occur against the background of:

• overeating;

90,017 reception of carbonated drinks;

90,017 hysteria and sobs;

• burst of laughter.

Often, hiccups also occur during pregnancy due to increased intra-abdominal pressure. In addition, the condition in question can arise as a manifestation of stress, drug poisoning, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Regardless of what causes hiccups, you need to know how to quickly stop an attack of convulsive contraction of the diaphragm muscles – this is how this problem is classified in medicine.

How to get rid of hiccups

Hiccups in a small child are not harmful to health, but every effort should be made to end the attack. In no case should you frighten the baby – the grandmother’s way of quickly getting rid of hiccups can provoke disorders of the nervous system, since it is not yet fully formed.The best solution would be boiled water – literally a few sips and after 10-30 seconds the diaphragm will stop convulsively contracting.

How to get rid of hiccups in adults and older children:

• Suck and chew / swallow a lemon circle slowly;
• Sip slowly a glass of water at room temperature;
• eat 1-2 teaspoons of sugar with water (it is better to dissolve 2 pieces of refined sugar).

How to quickly get rid of hiccups: take the deepest possible breath, opening your mouth wide. You need to hold your breath with your mouth open for a few seconds. Usually the attack stops immediately, but the technique can be repeated several times. If the problem is triggered by hypothermia, dress warmly, drink hot tea, or cover yourself with a blanket.

What to do in case of hiccups that occur frequently and are characterized by a prolonged attack? There are specific medications:

• Cisapride – taken 1 tablet before meals and 1 tablet at night;
• Baclofen – an average of 10 mg 3 times a day;
• Chlorpromazine – 25 mg intramuscularly 4 times a day.

Such prescriptions are made by a doctor, since self-administration of medicines is fraught with undesirable consequences, severe side effects.

You can find out how to stop hiccups on your own and what will help a child at an appointment with a neurologist or pediatrician. And you can sign up for a consultation with specialists on our website dobrobut.com

Hiccup

ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH IKOTA?

Hiccups, which seem to be an insignificant reaction of the human body, can appear at the most crucial moment and significantly complicate life.

It is difficult to conduct, for example, negotiations with a client if the person is constantly hiccuping …

Interesting fact about hiccups:

B Most people who have hiccups for more than a month begin to suffer from insomnia and wasting.

The causes of hiccups lie in the involuntary contraction of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. Within 35 milliseconds, the vocal cords collapse, causing a characteristic hiccup. Doctors call this sound synchronous diaphragmatic flutter (SDF).

An interesting fact – the sound “ik” is international, in the spelling of the word “hiccups” in one language or another, the sound “ik” is easily guessed:

• Hıçkırık – in Turkish;

• Gikavka – in Ukrainian;

• Hicka – in Swedish;

• Hikka – in Finnish;

• Hiccup – in English;

• Hıçqırıq – in Azerbaijani;

• Yktytuu – in Kyrgyz.

But in German the word “hiccup” sounds like “Schluckauf”.

An interesting fact about the longest hiccups.

The record holder for the duration of hiccups was a farmer from Iowa, Charles Osborne, who hiccuped for 68 years (from 1922 to 1990).Osborne was able to adapt and lead a relatively normal life, managing to create a prosperous family. Throughout his life, Osborne hiccupped 430 million times, the frequency of hiccups reached 40 times per minute.

Doctors say that the methods of treating hiccups have not changed since the time of Plato. American neuroscientist Robert Provine wrote the book “Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccups”, in which he notes that one of the problems of studying hiccups is the inability to consciously call it for examination of a person.The researcher cannot tell the subject that now he should start hiccuping, the devices are connected, and the experiment can be carried out. For this reason, studies are being conducted on people suffering from persistent, incessant hiccups, usually lasting several days or months. The results of these studies have revealed a number of interesting facts about hiccups.

An interesting fact about the treatment of hiccups: a short eye massage helps to get rid of hiccups.When massaging, you should close your eyes and massage the eyelids in the pupil area with smooth movements of the fingertips.

Traditional treatments for hiccups are still in use. Every person from childhood remembers that when hiccupping, you should drink water, hold your breath, eat a piece of sugar, or ask someone to cause severe fear. A scientific explanation has been found for these methods of treating hiccups: when you hold your breath, the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, which reduces the frequency of hiccups.You can breathe in a paper bag – this will lead to an increase in carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) in the body.

New unusual treatments for hiccups are randomly identified. Hiccups are not the most common pathology that requires the allocation of time and money. The study is complicated by the lack of enough adults suffering from hiccups for 48 hours.

If hiccups occur, doctors offer a variety of treatments:

gastroscopy

drug therapy;

injections with phrenic nerve blocking anesthetic.

In all circumstances, before starting treatment, a medical examination should be carried out to identify the hidden causes of prolonged hiccups.

Interesting fact about hiccups : in 50% of cases, incessant hiccups result from gastroesophageal reflux. Modern medicine recommends antacid (acid neutralizing) medications to combat this condition.

Traditional Chinese medicine widely practices massage.By massaging the point located behind the earlobe, you can get rid of not only hiccups, but also toothache.

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90,000 Hiccups Suspected of Positive Influence on Infant Development – Science

LONDON, 13 November. / TASS /. British scientists have suggested that babies need hiccups in order to learn how to breathe properly. This is evidenced by the brain waves that arise in a child’s head during hiccups, the authors said in an article for the scientific journal Clinical Neurophysiology.

Experts have not yet been able to determine the exact reason why we have hiccups. It first begins in the tenth week of pregnancy and manifests itself until the very old age. Especially often premature babies hiccup – it takes them up to 1% of the time. On average, children spend about 15 minutes a day hiccupping.

“The exact cause of hiccups is not fully understood, but most likely it serves a developmental function. It’s not for nothing that newly born babies hiccup so often,” Kimberly Whitehead, one of the authors of the study, told Sky News.

Neurophysiologists from University College London decided to study the connection between hiccups and electrical activity in the brain of infants. Their study involved 13 infants aged 30 to 42 weeks from conception, that is, both full-term and premature.

The results of the experiment showed that after the contraction of the muscles of the diaphragm during hiccups, several brain waves arise in the brain. Processing these signals can help a baby develop the brain properly, scientists say.In their previous work, they assumed that children pursue a similar goal when they kick in the womb.