Whether you spell them “hiccups,” “hiccoughs,” or “damnit-I-wish-they’d-go-away,” they’re a plague upon the existence of mankind. They can be embarrassing: I’ve dealt with them as a receptionist at a busy magazine company, (when you have to answer the phone, they’re sure to be the loudest) and whilst buying booze. Try walking up to a cashier with a bottle of wine and the hiccups, and you’ll know what I mean.
And they’re always annoying. No matter how slowly you count to ten whilst holding your breath, they can last for hours. The moms reading this will probably remember having a hiccuping baby in their bellies… cute at first, but not at 3am. I’ve heard horror stories of people having them for days! Can you imagine?
So how do we make them stop? Everyone has their “sure-fire way” to end the hiccups, but mine is by far the best. Only one drawback – you need a friend to help. The ONLY absolutely reliable way to get rid of the hiccups is, drink an entire glass of water with your fingers in your ears. I promise, it works every single time.
If you don’t have a friend, the other way that works is, stand on your head and sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” while juggling three oranges with your feet. At least that’s what I heard.
How do you get rid of the hiccups?
April 1, 2016 at 11:07 am
I hope they stay GONE! 😉
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April 1, 2016 at 2:20 am
Have not had any for a while, thank goodness. They are so tiresome!
I just suffer them til they go away 😉
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April 1, 2016 at 6:51 am
They are! And doesn’t it seem like once you get them, they come back for a few days? Weird.
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March 22, 2016 at 2:23 pm
ha! I never believed that any of those cures worked. One night I had the hiccups at about 2 am and after 2 hours they were still there. I was boarding at the time and was in the kitchen getting a drink when my landlord came down (he was a friend of mine) and he told me to drink pickle juice, and passed me the bottle of pickles. I poured some juice into a cup and drank it – and the hiccups disappeared. Amazed me.
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March 24, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Pickle juice, eh? Wow! Sweet or sour?
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March 24, 2016 at 4:06 pm
Sour. But I’d say that anyway just so I could giggle over thoughts of your face screwing up – Ha! No, really, it is sour – I think that may be the reason it works.
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March 24, 2016 at 4:08 pm
Blegh. Okay. I might try it. 🙂
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March 21, 2016 at 1:57 pm
OK — here goes, but with the warning: done by a professional hiccupper, do not try this at home.
a) have someone scare you (you know just out and say boo, sneak up behind you and tickle you). Drawback: can cause laughter, not fear, which makes the hiccups worse.
b) drink a glass of water through a handerchief (handerchief part is hard to do in 2016) from the far side of the glass. Drawback: dribble, laugh, laugh, hiccup
c) hold your breath until you turn blue. Drawback: gasp, gasp, laugh, laugh, hiccup
d) eat a teaspoon of white death (I mean sugar) without water or chocolate as accompaniment. Drawback: awakes sugar craving; chocolate has been known to stop hiccups.
e) swallow your hiccups. Drawback: Painful, but works.
f) read all of the above remedies submitted for Linda.
As I said, do not try this at home, or in public for that matter. Hic
See: http://www.medicinenet.com/hiccups/article.htm and http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiccups/basics/treatment/con-20031471
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March 21, 2016 at 2:00 pm
PS: I meant read below — I forgot the most recent comment (right now mine) is at the top!
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March 24, 2016 at 3:16 pm
Chocolate! I’ll try chocolate next time! 😀 😀
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March 21, 2016 at 4:15 am
Yep, upside down, fingers-in-ears water drinking every time.
Did you know; Pope Pius the first died of hiccups?
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March 24, 2016 at 3:01 pm
I did not know that! What a way to go!
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March 24, 2016 at 3:15 pm
He hiccupped solidly for months in a row and I think the strain on his heart was too much.
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March 24, 2016 at 3:18 pm
That would seriously suck.
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March 24, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Yeah, it would
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March 24, 2016 at 3:21 pm
…especially the dying part.
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March 24, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Yeah.
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March 20, 2016 at 8:15 pm
My father taught me a surefire trick decades ago. It works! You drink water from the opposite side of the glass (make sure you tuck your chin in to avoid spills or do over the sink). It works because of the odd way you’re swallowing. Let me know. 🙂
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March 24, 2016 at 2:50 pm
I’d end up with it up my nose. I know it. 😛 I may give it a try one day though. Or even better, experiment on one of my kids first! 😉 hehe
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March 25, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Do let me know. I swear it works! Sure the first time you may fail, it’s an art, lol. 🙂
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March 25, 2016 at 12:56 pm
If I try it (or I finagle someone else into trying it), you’ll be the first to know! 😀
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March 19, 2016 at 1:29 pm
Oh Lord, I’m so boring and scientific. Find the bottom of your ribcage with your fingertips and push. Stick your fingertips right into the muscle. A hiccup is a spasm of the diaphragm. It’s like a massage for that muscle.
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March 24, 2016 at 2:42 pm
Actually, this is great! First, because the puppy keeps getting the hiccups, so I can use this on him, but second and most of all, I have a son who is tube fed and doesn’t drink by mouth. Thank you for science!! 😀
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March 18, 2016 at 5:06 pm
I’ve always gone with drinking water upside down, I. e. putting your lips on the other side of the glass and bending over to drink.
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March 24, 2016 at 2:39 pm
I’m always afraid I’ll drown myself…
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March 24, 2016 at 5:24 pm
Yeah, it’s kind of like waterboarding yourself…
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March 24, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Nice.
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March 18, 2016 at 12:22 pm
My husband told me to rub my earlobe and I thought he was insane but it works every time. Go figure.
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March 18, 2016 at 12:24 pm
Wow, really? There’s another one I’ve never heard of. I’ll have to try it next time. 😀 Thanks, Lisa!
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March 18, 2016 at 12:14 pm
I take a sudden big deep breath and hold it for as long as I can. Almost always does the trick.
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March 18, 2016 at 12:15 pm
That’s actually what I always try first. When it works, it’s great!
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March 18, 2016 at 12:05 pm
I sip water slowly to the count of ten. Works for me.
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March 18, 2016 at 12:15 pm
I’ll try that next time I don’t have a friend to help out! Beats the orange-juggling thing. 😉
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March 18, 2016 at 11:52 am
We will try your method next time — I hope it’s as clever as you 🙂
I know a woman (knew her as a girl, too) who gets hiccups so badly and yes, sometimes for days, and then she must go to the hospital to have a tube fed into her tummy to trigger her diaphragm!
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March 18, 2016 at 12:14 pm
It’ll work!
And wow, that’s beyond annoying and embarrassing. How awful!
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March 18, 2016 at 12:21 pm
It really is 😦
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March 18, 2016 at 12:23 pm
😦
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March 18, 2016 at 11:40 am
I eat an apple. Works about 80% of the time.
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March 18, 2016 at 11:46 am
Really? Wow! I’ve never heard of that one before. 🙂
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March 18, 2016 at 10:53 am
a good scare gets rid of the hiccups…. unexpected scares…. like turning around and someone is standing right behind you kind of scare … works every time 🙂
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March 18, 2016 at 11:37 am
I’m sure it does! Kinda loses something though, if you have to ask someone to scare you… 😛
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March 19, 2016 at 4:36 am
lol that is true
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March 18, 2016 at 9:45 am
What we have done with our kids is to give them a can of pop/soda and have them take a good drink. Eventually the gas generates a burp, which interrupts the hiccup cycle.
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March 18, 2016 at 9:48 am
Oh that would SO not work for me. I can’t burp – I’d probably float away… Tie a string to my ankle and the kids would have a hiccuping helium balloon. 😉
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March 18, 2016 at 9:50 am
Hey, it’s the least you can do for your kids enjoyment. What kind of mother are you to deny them the simple pleasures of life? 😅
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March 18, 2016 at 10:30 am
Haha! You have a point. I should be ashamed of myself. 😉
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March 18, 2016 at 9:40 am
I drink lots of water and it works.
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March 18, 2016 at 9:43 am
That may just be a better alternative to the other one, when there aren’t any friends around.
Thanks for the suggestion! 😀
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