Health
Ask a doc: ‘What causes hiccups, and how can I get rid of them?'
Most of us get the hiccups from time to time. While they can be annoying, they generally go away on their own before too long.
But sometimes a stubborn case of the hiccups can go on for minutes or even up to an hour. If you’re at work or in a social situation, it can be embarrassing and a nuisance.
To better understand the cause of hiccups and how to get rid of them, Fox News Digital reached out to two doctors who are experts on the condition.
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Here are revealing insights.
What causes hiccups?
Hiccups are an involuntary and rapid contraction of the diaphragm muscle and the muscles between the ribs that expand the lungs to breathe, followed immediately by closure of the glottis.
That’s the muscular flap that closes the airway after swallowing, said Mark Loafman, M.D., a board-certified family physician with Cook County Health in Chicago, Illinois.
Hiccups are an involuntary and rapid contraction of the diaphragm muscle and the muscles between the ribs that expand the lungs to breathe, followed immediately by closure of the glottis — the muscular flap that closes the airway after swallowing. (iStock)
“The glottis closing is what causes the ‘hic’ sound,” he told Fox News Digital.
Most hiccup episodes are short-lived and are not cause for concern, according to Loafman.
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“Longer episodes are associated with a wide variety of conditions, ranging from benign to serious, though sometimes we never find the cause for persistent bouts of hiccups,” he said.
Some people do have a greater susceptibility than others, he noted.
One strategy to get rid of hiccups is to hold your breath as tolerated for five or even 10 seconds, a doctor said. (iStock)
“Routine hiccups are most common among older and taller men,” he said.
“There are a few theories about why that is — perhaps the long body type affects the various neuromuscular tissues involved, but no one knows for certain.”
Tips for getting rid of hiccups
While home remedies exist for hiccups, there is variable evidence on what actually works, said Natasha Bhuyan, M.D., a family doctor with One Medical in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Hiccups are essentially a reflex, so many of the remedies are trying to interrupt the signals causing the reflex,” she said. “This is why so many cures involve odd ways of drinking or eating.”
Sipping or gargling icy-cold water, biting into a lemon, swallowing a teaspoon of dry sugar or pulling on your tongue are other home remedies that the doctor suggested. (iStock)
Although there are no clinical trials on home remedies, Loafman noted that some patients have found some benefit from several of the methods.
One strategy is to hold your breath as tolerated for five or even 10 seconds, he suggested.
Another idea is to try a Valsalva maneuver, which is usually done by closing one’s mouth and pinching one’s nose shut while expelling air, per the National Institutes of Health.
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Sipping or gargling icy-cold water, biting into a lemon, swallowing a teaspoon of dry sugar or pulling on your tongue are other home remedies that Loafman suggested.
“Keep in mind that hiccups are most always self-limited and will stop no matter what you do, so any remedy will appear to work eventually because the hiccups stop on their own,” the doctor said.
Experts advise seeking medical attention if hiccups persist for hours at a time, are frequently recurring or interfere with basic, everyday functions. (iStock)
When it comes to the age-old tactic of “scaring someone” out of their hiccups, Loafman said that is folklore and probably doesn’t work.
“But hiccups are almost always going to stop on their own anyway, so scaring someone could appear to be effective at times,” he said.
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Dietary choices can also play a role in controlling hiccups, said Loafman — particularly overeating.
“If someone notices a pattern with certain foods, we would suggest making a change there as well,” he said.
When should you seek medical attention?
It’s advised to seek medical attention if hiccups persist for hours at a time, are frequently recurring or interfere with basic function, Loafman said.
While hiccups are short-lasting and totally benign most of the time, persistent episodes are associated with some chronic and sometimes serious health conditions.
These can include central nervous disorders, diabetes, kidney disease and esophageal issues, per the Mayo Clinic.
A medical provider can assess the situation further.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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