We are all familiar with the "hic" sound but may not understand how or why it happens. Do you know that hiccup can start and stop for no obvious reasons? Although they are harmless except in cases where they are prolonged, hiccups can drive someone nuts. Hiccups happens to both adults and babies. It is an automatic action that the body cannot control. This prompts people to try all sorts of unusual things and creative ideas to get rid of them. Some even believe that placing a rope on the baby's air eases the hiccup. I am yet to understand how that mechanism works before i dash into treatment, let us first understand what hiccup is.
Hiccup medically known as synchronous diaphragmatic flutter or singultus (SDF) is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm that involves a reflex arc. The diaphragm is a muscle that plays an important role in breathing and separates the chest from the abdomen. When the diaphragm contracts, there is a sudden closure of the vocal cords which produces the characteristics "hi" sound. Hiccup happens when your intake of air is momentarily blocked. It also happens when there is a sudden contraction of the larynx and a total closure of the glottis (the middle part of the larynx where the vocal cords are located). Hiccups are known to occur in bouts i.e they repeat several times per minutes although they also occur individually. Hiccups often are rhythmic having a relatively constant interval between each occurrence. Hiccups are often temporary but when prolonged, it signals a major medical problem. Hiccups that lasts longer than 48 hours are more common in men.
CAUSES OF HICCUPS
- Eating hot or spicy food that irritates the phrenic nerve.
- Swallowing air while chewing of hard candies.
- Sudden excitement.
- Eating a large meal.
- Drinking too much alcohol or carbonated beverages.
- Abdominal surgery.
- Certain medications.
- Damage to the phrenic nerve
- Noxious fumes.
- Stroke.
Most cases of hiccups can be cured or resolved in a short time and rarely are a medical emergency. Bouts of hiccups usually lasts only a few minutes. Rarely do they persist for months. However, they are some simple home remedies that can be used to stop it.
HOME REMEDIES FOR HICCUP
- Sudden fright or surprise.
- Pulling hard on the tongue.
- Placing one-off teaspoon of dry sugar on the back of the tongue and repeating three times at two minute interval.
- Swallowing water very quickly.
- Bite on a lemon.
- Sit down and hug your knees close to your chest as possible for a short time.
- Place gentle pressure on your nose.
- Take a teaspoonful of vinegar.
For babies, if the hiccup occurs during feeding, change the baby's position and burp the baby (rub the back of the baby to ease out air), calm the baby. If it doesn't go away, feed the baby.
If the hiccup is severe and prolonged and not responding to other treatments, a medication may have to be infected into the phrenic nerve by a surgeon to temporarily block the nerve's action or sever the phrenic nerve in the neck.
DIAGNOSIS
For a severe hiccup to be diagnosed, doctors ask questions like when did it start, how often does it happen, how frequent does it occur. A general physical examination and neurological examination is carried out to check the reflexes,balance, coordination, eyesight, sense of touch, muscle strength and tone.
COMPLICATIONS OF HICCUPS.
When hiccups are prolonged, they can be very uncomfortable and lead to certain complications such as weight loss and dehydration as a result of difficulty in eating, insomnia as it keeps one awake at night, communication problem, depression, delay in healing of Post-Gazette wounds increasing the risk of infections.
SEE A DOCTOR IF
- Hiccup lasts for more than 48hours, is severe and affects eating, sleeping and breathing.
- Hiccups causes reflux of food or vomiting and fever.
- Hiccups occurs with severe abdominal pain, spitting of blood or feeling as if the throat is about to close up.