Natural Cures For Hiccups and How To Avoid Them

Modified Nov 25, 2023 22:45 GMT

Natural Cures for Hiccups (Image via Pexels/Karolina Grabowska)

Natural cures for hiccups are several in number, but most hiccups go away on their own. But if you have ever experienced continuous hiccups, that came suddenly while you were laughing, or in between eating, you know how uncomfortable it may get if persists for a long time.

There are numerous natural cures for hiccups in every household but we cannot be completely sure if all of them work. Studies on curing hiccups have been limited, but there are some natural cures for hiccups, that have been effective since ancient times, and in this article, we will try our best to make your hiccups go away for the better good.

What causes Hiccups?

Our diaphragm is a large muscle that is controlled by our nerves, which helps us to control our breathing. Sometimes, while eating large chunks of a meal or getting suddenly excited, that particular stimulus triggers the nerves to send the diaphragm into spasms, and as we inhale suddenly, the vocal cords snap shut. This causes hiccups.

Outside factors that may cause hiccups are:

1) Gulping large chunks of meal quickly.

2) Drinking alcoholic or carbonated beverages.

3) Suddenly getting emotionally excited.

4) Underlying diseases (If continues for a very long time).

Natural Cures for Hiccups:

Things to Eat

1) Eating Sugar: Take a pinch of sugar from the kitchen, keep it on your tongue, and let it melt there for some time, before swallowing.

2) Grab a piece of Lemon: A savor in the summer, it can cure your hiccups. Put a pinch of salt over a piece of lemon, then suck on it. Rinse your mouth afterward to clean the citric acid.

3) Drink Ice Water: Drink a glass of Ice chilled water and sip on it slowly is one of the best natural cures for hiccups. The cooling effect will stimulate the vagus nerve.

Breathing Techniques

1) Breathe inside a Paper Bag: Take a paper bag, over your mouth and nose, then breathe in and breathe out on it, slowly and completely. Do this for some time, this will most probably ease the cramping.

2) Try the Valsalva Maneuver technique: To do the Valsalva maneuver technique, inhale completely, and then exhale while keeping your mouth and nose closed. This exercise is one of the best natural cures for hiccups.

3) Try to control your breathing: Hiccups disrupture our breathing pattern, so measuring our breathing, and slowing its pace down will eventually calm down the nerves.

How to avoid Hiccups

There are a few herbal natural cures for hiccups, and one of them is to gargle with hot water and salt. This can relieve the nerves and can eventually cure the hiccups.

Hence, to prevent hiccups in general, it's best to make little changes in our daily lifestyle. Take time, while you eat your food, and avoid gulping large chunks, and not chewing.

Smoking and drinking are not just injurious to our liver and lungs, but they also can be one of the major reasons for continuous hiccups, hence avoiding them completely in general is a good prevention. Also, try not to consume too much cold carbonated drinks especially after you have consumed something hot.

Practicing breathing exercises, and meditation with consistency will not only prevent sudden hiccups but will also improve cardiovascular as well as mental health in general.

Though hiccups are a common thing and most of them go away naturally, if a hiccup persists for a long time, especially more than two days, then this could be a sign of some underlying diseases. Continuous hiccups can also lead to strokes and hence, consulting a medical professional immediately will be the wisest thing to do.