Why do I get hiccups?
Hiccups are caused by involuntary periodic contractions of the diaphragm, which is the body’s most important respiratory muscle and is positioned as a ‘plate’ that separates the chest (the thorax) from the stomach. Simultaneously, there is a closing of the vocal cords and the ‘epiglottis’. This means that a hiccup is a fast respiration of air, which happens simultaneously with a quick closing of the vocal cords, and it is this mechanism that creates the well-known irritating noise of the hiccups.
However, hiccups actually have a positive function. They are helpful when food is stuck in the food pipe. This is due to the sense organs within the food pipe, which detects when food has failed to pass all the way through to the stomach but is caught in the food pipe. The hiccup-mechanism causes respiration of air to create pressure on the food that is stuck, thereby pushing the food down into the stomach where it belongs.
But how are hiccups triggered?
You often get hiccups, when you ingest your food too quickly, drink something cold, drink alcohol or experience stress. For most people, it is due to eating too quickly, but if you have had alcohol before, you may have experienced having hiccups – hiccups also usually occur in connection with alcohol intake. This happens because alcohol irritates the sense organs of the food pipe and stomach, which causes these sense organs to react, despite no food being stuck.
Apart from the most frequent causes, there are also more rare causes for hiccups such as:
- Central nervous system damage, such as ‘apoplexy’ (blood clot in the brain), inflammation in the brain or a brain tumour.
- Irritation of nerves in the chest cavity, such as pneumonia or peritonitis.
- Irritation of the diaphragm muscle from the stomach side, such as cancer.
- Irritation of a nerve in the throat region, such as goitre.
If hiccups are caused by some of these rarer conditions, the hiccups will have lasted for more than 2 days. If the hiccups are persistent, you should contact your doctor immediately!
Hiccups can be treated using household remedies that you may have heard about before. These are:
- Hold your breath. This helps ‘lock’ the diaphragm so that the involuntary contractions are interrupted
- Drink a glass of water, as this can help bring the food down the food pipe
- Gurgle the throat in ice water
