What Actually Causes Hiccups and How to Stop Them Instantly

What Actually Causes Hiccups and How to Stop Them Instantly

Verified By
KIMS-SUNSHINE
Specialist,
19 April, 2025

Hiccups are sudden movements of the muscles like the diaphragm, the throat and the vocal cords, causing them to spasm due to the nerves getting irritated. The 2 nerves you need to know about are the vagus nerve and the phrenic nerve respectively, though there are many others that can get affected in the same way. Hiccups are very random events for most folks, but if someone suffers from chronic conditions, they may have to deal with hiccups that last for hours or even days. When this happens, their quality of life gets affected- they cannot eat, drink or sleep in peace. Hiccups are classified into 3 types- the normal transient hiccups we all know of that goes away in a few minutes, persistent hiccups that last for 2 days or longer, intractable hiccups that last for about a month or so and recurrent hiccups that seem to come and go as they please and last for longer than the last time you had it.

What Causes Hiccups And How To Prevent Them

Hiccups as we mentioned above are caused when certain nerves in the chest or throat region get irritated. This can cause the diaphragm to take in more air, with the vocal cords or glottis trying unsuccessfully to stop that from happening- resulting in the closing and opening of the glottis and the typical ‘hic’ sound. Since hiccups are mainly caused due to specific actions or triggers, not doing them or coming in contact with them can serve as a great preventive measure in itself. This normally works for transient hiccups which come and go in some time. But, prevention may not exactly work when your persistent or intractable hiccups are being caused by some other underlying condition. Some people may hiccup, but there won’t be any sound- they will just notice a tightening of their chest, stomach and throat. Hiccups are caused when you eat too much too fast- introducing more air than can be handled, into the stomach, by spicy or fizzy foods, by sudden emotional changes, and other reasons.

Best Methods To Stop Persistent Or Long-Lasting Hiccups

There is no sure way to cure hiccups, but some home remedies seem to work for transient hiccups- like drinking water, holding your breath a minute, eating some sugar, pulling on your tongue, drinking ice water etc. For persistent or long lasting hiccups, you may be given drugs like proton pump inhibitors, which will reduce acid reflux, gabapentin, baclofen or if it is due to some other drug, they may ask you to switch it out with another one that has a similar mechanism of action. Very rarely, they may ask you to stop taking the medication completely. You can also try hypnosis or nerve block injections.

What Are The Medical Causes Of Hiccups That Won’t Stop?

If you have chronic conditions like GERD, neurodegenerative conditions, tumours, lung issues, shingles, infections like herpes or take certain drugs which can cause hiccups. Persistent hiccups can happen after surgeries too.

Conclusion

Hiccups can be annoying to deal with, but they mostly go away on their own. If hiccups continue for longer than 2 days, then your doctor may ask you to get a few tests done. Hiccups that occur due to chronic medical conditions stay for much longer and can affect you for even weeks or months. In such instances, going for therapy may be essential- like acupuncture, hypnosis and getting more sophisticated medication for the hiccups alone may be essential. If you know what your triggers ae, try to avoid them as much as possible. If you notice symptoms of a stroke- like facial paralysis, not being able to speak properly and begin to hiccup at the same time, then you need to get medical help immediately, as it is a medical emergency.

Frequently Asked Questions