How to Cure Hiccups

By Rachel Thomson, Class of 2023.

Whether you call them hiccups or hiccoughs, there’s no denying these involuntary diaphragm contractions can be a real nuisance and down-right painful.

Whilst we’re not entirely sure why we hiccup, we know that just about everybody does – even babies in utero.

The diaphragm is a large muscle that sits underneath your lungs, separating the thoracic (or chest) cavity from the abdominal cavity. As we breathe, the diaphragm relaxes, allowing the lungs to fill with air, before contracting to help with exhalation. Usually, the diaphragm works in perfect rhythm with the other muscles we use to breathe, but every now and then things can get a bit out of sync, causing hiccups.

While hiccups usually resolve on their own in time, we’ve probably all tried some classic home remedies to alleviate the discomfort. Popular folk remedies include head-standing, drinking water while upside down, and/or being frightened by someone.

Sometimes these remedies work, but more often than not, you’re likely to end up spilling some water on yourself and still hiccup. Instead, there’s a simple breathing technique, commonly used by weightlifters, that can help cure hiccups quickly.

It’s called the Valsalva Manoeuvre, and I guarantee you already know how to do it.

The fancy, physiological way to describe it is as “forced expiration against a closed glottis”, but it’s easier to think of it as trying to breathe out with your throat closed. It’s something we all naturally do when trying to pick up a heavy object or when we’re a little constipated and trying to get things moving.

When we do this, we increase the pressure in our chest, preventing blood from returning back to the heart. Whilst holding that breath, we see a drop in blood pressure and the hearts starts beating faster to try and compensate for this. When we finally release the breath and exhale, blood rushes back to heart. This increases your blood pressure, and so your heartrate slows down again before both return back to normal levels.

The whole process of balancing out your blood pressure and heart rate is controlled by your autonomic nervous system – the same system that regulates normal breathing and diaphragm contraction. Performing the Valsalva Manoeuvre kind of resets your autonomic nervous system, helping prompt your diaphragm to get back into the right rhythm.

But be careful if you try this at home! Holding your breath for too long can be dangerous.

Weightlifters tend to use the Valsalva Manoeuvre when lifting, since it is a natural reflex used to brace ourselves when picking up something heavy; but the increased pressure in the chest makes it difficult for blood flow to reach the brain. As a result, they can quickly become light-headed or dizzy, and faint.

Furthermore, weightlifters often ‘bear down’, pushing through their core and abdominal muscles when lifting. This creates an extraordinary amount of downward pressure in the body, only increased by the extra pressure in the chest from breath-holding. Sometimes, this pressure can overwhelm the pelvic floor muscles, leading to incontinence and/or loss of bowel control.

So, if you want to try out the Valsalva Manoeuvre yourself, don’t push too hard, or you might end up needing a change of underwear…