Laughter, hot and spicy food, eating too quickly and eating too much are some of the culprits that may cause hiccups. This involuntary jerking action happens when the diaphragm becomes irritated. Most of the time, hiccups will subside on their own and only last a few minutes. More severe cases may continue for hours, days or even weeks. If it continues more than a few hours, seek medical help from your doctor because it could be a sign of something more serious.
Use a Paper Bag
One way to stop hiccups is to exhale and inhale into a small paper bag. This will increase the carbon dioxide in the blood, which may lower the sensitivity of one of the nerves in the brain, the vagus nerve, which affects the diaphragm.
Drink Water
Slowly drink water while holding your breath for about 10 seconds. This also helps increase the carbon dioxide levels.
Hold Your Breath
If you don't have a paper bag or a glass of water available, simply hold your breath. Try this several times for 10 seconds each time.
Drink Ice Cold Water
Prepare an ice cold glass of water and slowly drink it. According to an article on Healthscout, the quick change in temperature in the esophagus may stop the hiccups.
Be Scared
Have someone jump out and scare you. The unexpected action may force you to constrict your diaphragm, disrupting the pattern of hiccups.
Swallow Sugar
Swallow a teaspoon of sugar, and you may be able to get rid of hiccups. The theory behind this is that it affects the vegus nerve, which causes the diaphragm to constrict. Some people claim that you should put the sugar on the back of the tongue, and others recommend putting it under the tongue.
Gargle
Gargling will prevent inhaling, which will elevate the carbon dioxide in your blood. Gargle alternately with ice water and warm water to change the temperature of some of the nerves, making this a two-prong approach to ridding yourself of the hiccups.
Eat Peanut Butter
Eat a tablespoon of peanut butter. The stickiness of it will force you to swallow hard, which will disrupt the hiccup pattern.
Cough or Sneeze
Coughing and sneezing will cause the diaphragm to constrict. This breaks the pattern of hiccups and may stop them.
Inhale and Swallow
Take a deep breath until you don't think you can inhale any more. Swallow without letting the air out of your lungs. Then try to take in just a tad more air and swallow again. This combined action changes the ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood and disrupts the pattern of the hiccups.
