Hiccups – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Hiccups – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

 

A hiccup or hiccough (normally pronounced “HICK-up” IPA: /?h?k?p/; hiccough is an archaic and now disused spelling), is the spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm that repeat several times per minute. In humans, the abrupt rush of air into the lungs causes the epiglottis to close, creating the “hic” listen (help·info) noise. In medicine, it is known as synchronous diaphragmatic flutter (SDF), or singultus.

Hiccups Causes

While many cases develop spontaneously, hiccups are known to be triggered by specific events, such as eating too quickly, being hungry for long, taking a cold drink while eating a hot meal, burping, eating very hot or spicy food, laughing vigorously or coughing, drinking alcoholic beverages in excess, crying out loud (sobbing causes air to enter the stomach), some smoking situations where abnormal inhalation can occur (in tobacco or other smoke like cannabis, perhaps triggered by precursors to coughing), electrolyte imbalance, talking too long, clearing the throat, by some of the stronger opiate painkillers such as Heroin, Morphine, and Oxycodone or from lack of vitamins.

Any other practices that might irritate the diaphragm such as eating too much (especially fatty foods) or drinking too much (drunk people hiccup) can make you prone to having hiccups.

Signs And Symptoms

Hiccups produce a repetitive jerking of the diaphragm and temporary closure of the airway. A tyipical sound is produced.

How long do hiccups last?

Hiccups usually stop within a few minutes to a few hours.

Hiccups that last longer than 48 hours are called persistent hiccups. Hiccups that last longer than a month are called intractable hiccups. While very rare, intractable hiccups can cause exhaustion, lack of sleep, and weight loss. Both persistent and intractable hiccups may be a sign of a more serious health problem and must be checked by a doctor.

Diagnosis of Hiccups

If you have persistent hiccups (lasting for more than 48 hours), see your GP and tell them how long and how frequently you have been hiccupping. Your GP will examine you and may take blood and urine samples to work out the cause of your persistent hiccups, and may also arrange for a computerised tomography (CT scan) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan) to be done.

Treatments and drugs

Medication. Several forms of medication may be effective for treating hiccups. The most commonly used is chlorpromazine (Thorazine). Other medications that may be helpful include metoclopramide (Reglan), anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines and baclofen (Lioresal).

Nasogastric (NG) tube. If your stomach is distended, a thin, flexible tube inserted through your nose and into your stomach (nasogastric tube) may stop hiccups by providing relief from stomach distention. The tube usually is removed as soon as the hiccups stop.

Emergency Department Care

Generations of physicians have yet to discover a definitive cure for hiccups. A statement from the Mayo Clinic expressed the situation perfectly in 1932, “The amount of knowledge on any subject such as this can be considered as being in inverse proportion to the number of different treatments suggested and tried for it.”

Direct therapy at the cause of the hiccups, if identified, and then to the hiccups themselves, if needed. Treatments can be divided into the categories of pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic, and other.

For more severe, persistent hiccups, your doctor may try medications to manage your hiccups. Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) is usually the first prescription medication tried for hiccups, although drugs such as baclofen (Lioresal) and medications used to treat convulsions such as phenytoin (Dilantin) have also been successful.