Here’s how you can ‘reliably stop hiccups’

HOW TO RELIABLY STOP HICCUPS:
Hiccups = phrenic nerve-to-diaphragm
spasm. To de-spasm that circuit, inhale maximally (via your nose) 3 times with no exhales in between. Then hold your breath for 15-30 seconds & then slowly exhale (via your mouth). Done.

— Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. (@hubermanlab) February 23, 2023

In a podcast, Huberman elaborated upon this method. “Everybody experiences hiccups from time to time. I think most people would agree that one hiccup is sort of funny, two hiccups in a row are really funny, and three hiccups in a row is when it starts to be concerning, in part, because hiccups can be kind of painful. You may experience pain in your gut, lower abdomen and, sometimes, chest,” he said.

He added that hiccups can get in the way of you having conversations or just sitting there and relaxing. “Fortunately, there’s a simple way to get rid of hiccups and you can arrive at that simple technique if you know a little about what gives rise to hiccups,” the expert said, adding that we experience hiccups of the spasm of the phrenic nerve. What this means is that if you can stop the phrenic nerve from spasming, you can stop hiccups, he shared.

Explaining the technique of stopping hiccups, he said that it takes advantage of hyper-contracting the phrenic nerve over a short period of time. “So, when it subsequently relaxes, it alleviates the spasming of the phrenic nerve. And, the method is to inhale three times in a row. This is a very unusual pattern of breathing but what it involves is taking a big deep inhale through your nose and before you exhale, taking a second exhale through the nose however brief that inhale might be. Then, take another inhale through your nose and hold your breath for 15-20 seconds and then slowly exhale.”

According to Huberman, this method hyper-excited the phrenic nerve three times in a row, a very unnatural pattern. “Then, it undergoes a hyperpolarisation in which the phrenic nerve stands the much lower probability of getting activated again for some period of time afterwards,” he said.

Agreeing with this technique, Dr DC Gupta, Consultant, Pulmonology, Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Jaipur said, “This works because occasionally, a simple change in your breathing or posture can relax your diaphragm. The system of inhaling and exhaling breath veritably gently (to 60 per cent of lung capacity) and continues where the idea is to inhale and exhale so as to keep the ‘system busy’ and change your focus direction. Inhale a large gulp of air and hold it for about 10 to 20 seconds, also breathe out slowly.”

Physical manoeuvres can terminate hiccup bouts in many people and they are simple and generally safe to perform, according to Dr Aniket Mule, Consultant, Internal Medicine, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road. “These manoeuvres interrupt normal respiratory function and cause raised carbon dioxide levels, irritate the upper airways, increase vagal stimulation, or relieve irritation of the diaphragm,” he said.

He also shared some other simple ways to stop hiccups:

*Breath-holding for 5 to 10 seconds.
*Sitting in ‘knee chest position’ for up to 1 minute.
*Doing the valsalva manoeuvre
*Gargling with chilled water or sipping on it.
*Eating a lemon.
*Pulling the tongue out.
*Putting pressure on eyeballs
*Eating some dry sugar.

However, “if hiccups are secondary to a bad acid peptic disease with ulcer(s) and erosions”, these manoeuvres might not help, Dr Dilip Gude, Senior Consultant Physician, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad said.

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