Why we hiccup

By Tat’yana Berdan

Singultus is a fancy name for the hiccups. Everyone gets the hiccups, but no one really knows why they occur. Scientists themselves are still trying to figure out what causes them.

During a case of the hiccups, the diaphragm contracts spastically. The diaphragm is located in the chest. Normally it helps you breathe by pushing air in and out of your lungs. When you hiccup, you take in air suddenly. This air rushes past your boom box, causing the strange noise.

There is no exact, clear reason, however, why the diaphragm begins to contract in the first place. Most hiccups seem to occur after a person drinks or eats too much or too quickly. They can also occur when a person becomes anxious, or excited. Eating spicy foods can also bring on a case of the hiccups. In more severe cases, hiccups are a result of a serious medical condition, such as pneumonia, nerve disease or a stroke in the brain.

Most cases of the hiccups disappear after a couple of minutes with or without treatment, but remedies do exist.

There is no scientific evidence to support holding one’s breath, eating a teaspoon of sugar, drinking a glass of water quickly, breathing into a bag, pulling your tongue or becoming scared as valid treatments for the hiccups, but they all seem to work.

Though most of the time a case of the hiccups is just annoying, in rare cases, it can be serious. If the hiccups last for days, weeks or months, medical help should be sought. Treatments such as medication, neck muscle massages, tube insertion or a nerve block are available if the hiccups continue for too long.

Some random facts about hiccups:
• Some experts believe hiccups are a reflex that keeps people from choking.
• Animals get the hiccups too.
• The record for hiccupping belongs to a man named Charles Osbone, who hiccupped for more than 60 years.
• Holding your breath causes a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood stream, which is thought to stop the hiccups.
• Hiccups are very common in babies.

To sum up, then: Scientists don’t know what purpose, if any, hiccups serve, but they aren’t anything to worry about. Besides being a pain, hiccups don’t usually cause any harm. They are simply a natural occurrence in the body.

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