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What is your cure for hiccups? Mine is putting sugar on the tip of my tongue and drinking a glass of water without (Original Post) debm55 Jul 14 OP
Put a paper towel over a glass of water and johnnyfins Jul 14 #1
Thank you very much johnnyfins. I am glad it works, debm55 Jul 14 #5
Hold my breath for 10 seconds then drink a glass of water. catbyte Jul 14 #2
Thank you very much, catbyte debm55 Jul 14 #6
hold your breath and Rver Jul 14 #3
Thank you very much Rver, debm55 Jul 14 #7
Um, 3 times doesn't work for me Brother Buzz Jul 14 #33
HAHAHAHHAHAHAH Thank you Brother Buzz debm55 Jul 14 #34
Last time you asked this I gave you a cure and you said you would try it. How did it go? Bernardo de La Paz Jul 14 #4
The only cure that works for me is sugar on the tip of my tongue and a glass of water, debm55 Jul 14 #8
Did you try my cure? It is based on mechanics & physiology of hiccups. Needs no devices or substances. . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Jul 14 #9
It did not work for me. debm55 Jul 14 #11
Okay, thanks for trying. All the other cures ever mentioned act on the same general principles but are less direct. .nt Bernardo de La Paz Jul 14 #13
Stand legs apart, bend at waist far enough to drink glass of water upside-down EYESORE 9001 Jul 14 #10
Oh , You , Thank you EYESORE 9001 debm55 Jul 14 #12
Despite its awkwardness, it works EYESORE 9001 Jul 14 #14
Yes. It works. yorkster Jul 14 #28
It's a lot easier if you use a bottle of water, rather than a glass. Dem2theMax Jul 15 #47
Tilt your head forward and sip water from the opposite rim Ritabert Jul 14 #15
Thank you very much for sharing with us. Ritabert. debm55 Jul 14 #17
Tickle the soft upper palate of your mouth with a finger rurallib Jul 14 #16
Thank you ruralib. That sounds helpful debm55 Jul 14 #18
I spew as many 4 letter words as I can in between each hiccup. 2MuchNoise Jul 14 #19
Thank you very much. 2MuchNoise. debm55 Jul 14 #21
shees back!!!!! AllaN01Bear Jul 14 #20
Thank you AllaNO1Bear. Husband has been having problems with his heart You have an very interesting cure. debm55 Jul 14 #23
"" AllaN01Bear Jul 14 #25
Hey! Deep breath into the lungs, hold it for a few seconds works for me. LoisB Jul 14 #22
Thank you very much LoisB. debm55 Jul 14 #24
Cures as simple as yours are all that are needed when you consider the physiology Bernardo de La Paz Jul 14 #26
Thank you for the explanation. I never knew why or how it works. None of the water "cures" LoisB Jul 14 #29
Holding my breath annalog Jul 14 #27
Thank you very much for sharing, annalog. And welcome to DU. debm55 Jul 14 #31
Thank you annalog Jul 14 #36
Hit your thumb with a rubber mallet, you will forget all about hiccups. I don't doc03 Jul 14 #30
hahahahhahahha. That's true. Thank you doc03 debm55 Jul 14 #32
Ha! ILikePie92 Jul 14 #35
HAHAHHAHha. Thank you ILikePie92 debm55 Jul 14 #37
Bitters and lemon juice DelMar dem Jul 14 #38
That's a new one. Thank you. DelMar and welcome to DU debm55 Jul 14 #43
drinking a glass of water justaprogressive Jul 14 #39
Thank you justaprogressive, but how do you do that.? debm55 Jul 14 #42
Stand up holding half-full glass of water justaprogressive Jul 15 #44
Thank you debm55 Jul 15 #45
On a plane, flying over the Atlantic Ocean ... Jeebo Jul 14 #40
Thank you very much for sharing with us, Jeebo. debm55 Jul 14 #41
Yelling At The Hiccups To Go Away ProfessorGAC Jul 15 #46
I no longer get hiccups I cannot handle, thankfully. soldierant Jul 15 #48
Deep breathing in and out over and over Tree Lady Wednesday #49

johnnyfins

(2,457 posts)
1. Put a paper towel over a glass of water and
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:32 AM
Jul 14

Drink through the paper towel. Works like a charm.

catbyte

(37,354 posts)
2. Hold my breath for 10 seconds then drink a glass of water.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:34 AM
Jul 14

My mom taught me that. Seems to work.

Good to have you back!

Brother Buzz

(38,996 posts)
33. Um, 3 times doesn't work for me
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 11:13 AM
Jul 14

Swallowing three times doesn't do it for me, but swallowing ten times, (which is nearly impossible) works magically.

I'm guessing struggling and focusing on swallowing the last four or five times (it's really hard) calms all the mussels and your hiccups disappear. - I guarantee it.

Bernardo de La Paz

(57,194 posts)
9. Did you try my cure? It is based on mechanics & physiology of hiccups. Needs no devices or substances. . . nt
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:02 AM
Jul 14

Bernardo de La Paz

(57,194 posts)
13. Okay, thanks for trying. All the other cures ever mentioned act on the same general principles but are less direct. .nt
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:06 AM
Jul 14

EYESORE 9001

(28,589 posts)
10. Stand legs apart, bend at waist far enough to drink glass of water upside-down
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:04 AM
Jul 14

That advice was discarded by young woman wearing shorts, who accused me of wanting her to bend over in front of me. Was she right? I’m just all about the cure.

EYESORE 9001

(28,589 posts)
14. Despite its awkwardness, it works
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:11 AM
Jul 14

I think a ‘reset’ happens when muscles are called into action in odd ways.

Dem2theMax

(10,778 posts)
47. It's a lot easier if you use a bottle of water, rather than a glass.
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 09:28 PM
Jul 15

That particular method has never failed me.
Upside down, drinking water, works every time!

Ritabert

(1,378 posts)
15. Tilt your head forward and sip water from the opposite rim
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:27 AM
Jul 14

It takes awhile to get it right but it works every time.

rurallib

(63,934 posts)
16. Tickle the soft upper palate of your mouth with a finger
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:38 AM
Jul 14

only need a few seconds and it goes away.

Haven't had hiccups for a long time, but this would work for me.

2MuchNoise

(307 posts)
19. I spew as many 4 letter words as I can in between each hiccup.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 09:58 AM
Jul 14

It doesn't cure them but it makes me feel better.

Welcome back, debm.

AllaN01Bear

(26,532 posts)
20. shees back!!!!!
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 10:02 AM
Jul 14

mine is full glass of water w spoon. bend over and drink the other side of the glass , slowly. many times a just a drink of water slowly will do it. what eyesore said.

debm55

(48,528 posts)
23. Thank you AllaNO1Bear. Husband has been having problems with his heart You have an very interesting cure.
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 10:06 AM
Jul 14

Bernardo de La Paz

(57,194 posts)
26. Cures as simple as yours are all that are needed when you consider the physiology
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 10:17 AM
Jul 14

The physiology is that air is trapped in the stomach. The stomach doesn't need or want air, so it tries to expel it as a burp. It's a reflex. But the air is blocked by the esophagus, which doesn't want stomach contents coming up unless unavoidably necessary (projectile vomiting, retching).

So by taking a deep breath and holding, the reflex is interrupted and on the expulsion of a large volume of breath, the whole trunk of the body relaxes and the trapped air can escape.

What I do is related. I arch my head up, and purposefully relax my esophagus to release the trapped air. Voluntary nervous system over involuntary. I kind of "burp myself". It is that simple, as is yours though yours is more of a trick subverting the involuntary nerves. You can do it in a dry desert with no water, while standing in a crowd, no fuss.

LoisB

(11,111 posts)
29. Thank you for the explanation. I never knew why or how it works. None of the water "cures"
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 10:28 AM
Jul 14

have ever worked for me.

doc03

(38,152 posts)
30. Hit your thumb with a rubber mallet, you will forget all about hiccups. I don't
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 10:28 AM
Jul 14

know really, I haven't ever had them for more than a few seconds. Raw carrots give me hiccups, I don't eat them.

ILikePie92

(189 posts)
35. Ha!
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 11:19 AM
Jul 14

I put on a viking helmet, then a wedding dress, then cowboy boots. Next step is to hold my nose, while hopping on one foot in a circle....clockwise (VERY IMPORTANT), all while singing the theme song to WKRP in Cincinnati.

Works every time!

DelMar dem

(63 posts)
38. Bitters and lemon juice
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 01:12 PM
Jul 14

sipped. Not the best tasting "cocktail" but it works for me every time.

justaprogressive

(4,730 posts)
44. Stand up holding half-full glass of water
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 10:36 AM
Jul 15

:Lean well forward, and drink from the far side of the glass.

:2 swallows, straighten up, hiccups gone. Works every time.

https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/1437/does-drinking-water-upside-down-help-cure-hiccups

Jeebo

(2,486 posts)
40. On a plane, flying over the Atlantic Ocean ...
Mon Jul 14, 2025, 08:35 PM
Jul 14

I had a terrible case of hiccups. It was driving me nuts. A flight attendant heard me hiccuping. She handed me a glass of water and told me to chug-a-lug it. The hiccups went away immediately, like a miracle.

— Ron

soldierant

(8,743 posts)
48. I no longer get hiccups I cannot handle, thankfully.
Tue Jul 15, 2025, 09:49 PM
Jul 15

But my uncle (who passed away in 1976 or 77) had a very powerful remedy - take a fresh lime and cut it into eighths (i.e. in half in each of three dimensions.) Take one of these pieces and sprinkle bitters on it. Then put it in your mouth, peel and all, and chew and swallow it.

I would call that a last resort remedy because it's anything but tasty. But it does shock your esophagus very fast and stop the hiccups.

Sugar works too - but if sugar works like a gun, this remedy works like a cannon.

Tree Lady

(12,548 posts)
49. Deep breathing in and out over and over
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 02:08 AM
Wednesday

My cousin, science teacher told me they are caused by swallowing air and breathing makes them go away.

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