I need some help here. I have had the hiccups for 3 days. It came about when I was coughing, I got sick 4 days ago. The hiccups are very painful now, and happen at 4 second intervals.

I need to get rid of them, for good.

Please, none of the quick fixes that your grandma told ya, I need to know from the docs and whatnot what really works.

My shoulders, neck, back and throat are in pretty bad pain now because of these damn things.

thanks in advance

Eat a lemon.

I get severe huccups occasionally and it really works...

This is an explaination from my Aunt who is a pediatrition and has treated a number of kids with chronic hiccups:


Hiccups are caused by the fact that the protective flap that covers the esophagus/windpipe is dislodged from its normal position. Hiccups are the bodies attempt to put the skin-flab back in the right place.

One of the most effective ways to "help" the body set things right is to do something that causes rapid "dry swallowing".

For instance, Wet your finger and dip it in sugar and then suck on your finger and swallow as many time and in as short succession as you possibly can. The sugar is there to make you salivate so that it is easier to swallow in short succession.

The repeated constriction of the throat accompanied by the movement of the larnax when swallowing is one of the best ways to help cure the CAUSE of hiccups.


Headrange, this is probably why your "eat a lemon trick" works.. It forces you to salivate and swallow hard.

This, by the way, has ALWAYS worked for me.. But you have to force yourself to swallow even when you think you can't.

Hope it helps

Doug

Morphine for me, thanks.

Mom used to say, "Hold your breath and count to 1000". Could explain some of my issues

So how many times did you turn blue and pass out?

For me, heck keep speed guzzlin down some cold frothy brews always cured it but got me stone cold BLASTED. When I woke back up, usually had to start all over again.


Ain't cured yet!

Everytime, ya maroon! But when I woke up the hiccups were gone...

I'll bet she was saying "count to 10" and you just mis-heard her...

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I'll bet she was saying "count to 10" and you just mis-heard her...

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He'd still pass out...

All this talk of salivating and swallowing might get a few people all randy.

Holding my breath has always cured hiccups for me.

Sean, why haven't you called a doc yet? Three days? That sounds horrible.

the sugar swallowing trick always works for me as well.

When my kids would get the hiccups I'd tell them to take a walk
They haven't been back & I don't hear the hiccups anymore so I'm
pretty sure it worked. So... take a walk

Doc is last resort.

It hurts so much even to talk. Mom (a nurse) thinks I have an infection of some sort as well.

I am having a happy reprieve right now
And I just took a Tylenol 3, so I hope to sleep tonite.

Ever been checked for reflux?

NO CARBONATED OR CAFFEINATED BEVERAGES.
Many dairy foods like milk and cheese are common trigger foods.
Cut out anything with acid (lemons and oranges have a lot of citric acid).

Basically cut your diet to water and bread for a day or so and see if it helps. If it does, make an appointment with your doctor. Depending on what he finds, they may send you to a specialist. I have reflux pretty bad. It's not cool.

If you catch it early and adjust your diet accordingly, its not too bad. But if you just let it go, the hiccups get really painful, the acid will start backing up in your throat, and the acid can damage the dna of the cells in your esophagus turning them into cancer. Esophageal Cancer was inoperable last time I checked. I know this is a very simplyfied explanation, but I just want you to take it seriously.

I had an ulcer when I was in college, and I remember the pains, so I'm being very alert to this...BUT, this case of the hiccups was caused by a caughing spree.

Well then, maybe try laying off the sauce...?

Hey

What happened??? You better dude? I have been known to get hickups, but never for 3 days... Thats not even funny....

Update?

Later

I have no advice as I dont know anything about this, but I do know that if you have some sort of "issue" there for such an extended time you should get it looked at by an ENT doc. There could be many physical causes that are triggering your glossopharyngeal nerve, some benign, some not. Get someone ot look at it. The Tylenol3 only masks the symptoms by depressing the nervous response with codine, IIRC.

Take care!

I've been pretty much hiccup free since about midnight, or whenever I took the Tylenol III. It may have been the ticket, just to relax the muscle that was freaking out.

It's not uncommon for me to get the hiccups for a day or so, but ganged with this cold I have, everytime I coughed (which uses the same or similar muscles) I would hiccup, well it just got worse from there.

I've been very careful to try to only cough once if I feel I need to. I think the cough - gasp - cough series would trigger it again.

Anyway, so far so good (knockonwood)

Glad to hear it