Almost everyone has experienced hiccups. Often, this condition occurs suddenly when you eat too quickly or are full. However, if hiccups persist, you should be aware of other illnesses that may trigger them.
Most hiccups will go away on their own. Rarely is hiccups considered a serious medical condition. Hiccups are the effect of a sudden contraction of the diaphragm muscle. The sound that occurs during hiccups occurs when the vocal cords close during the contraction of the muscle.
Various Causes of Hiccups
In general, the trigger for hiccups is related to diet, such as eating too much, swallowing air while chewing gum, and consuming too many soft drinks. Hiccups can also be caused by sudden changes in weather, stress, or being overly excited.
However, persistent hiccups that last for more than two days, should be looked for immediately. Often the cause of persistent hiccups is not clearly known. However, there are several conditions that are known to be possible causes, such as irritation of the eardrum due to a foreign object, sore throat, enlargement of the thyroid gland, tumors or cysts in the throat, pregnancy, hiatal hernia, electrolyte disturbances, and acid reflux into the esophagus.gastroesophageal reflux disease/GERD).
Chronic disease conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, kidney failure, cancer and chemotherapy side effects can also be a contributing factor to persistent hiccups. In addition, this kind of hiccups can be caused by disorders of the central nervous system, causing the body to be unable to control hiccups.
Certain types of medical procedures can also cause persistent hiccups, such as the use of catheters in the heart muscle, bronchoscopy procedures on the lungs, and tracheostomy procedures on the neck. In fact, an unhealthy lifestyle including excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking can also trigger persistent hiccups.
How to Overcome Hiccups
Generally, hiccups can be treated at home by simple means such as holding your breath for a while, drinking water quickly, gargling, or sucking on a lemon. In addition, there are also simple ways to stop hiccups that are usually done, for example breathing in a paper bag, tasting vinegar, pulling your knees towards your chest and looking down until your chest feels compressed.
Immediately consult a doctor if the hiccups continue for more than three hours. There are several treatment options that can be done. For example, for people with stomach acid disease who experience persistent hiccups, doctors can give drugs to reduce stomach acid production.
In addition, there are also conditions that are quite severe and chronic, the doctor will give drugs such as chlorpromazine, haloperidol, anticonvulsant drugs valproic acid, phenytoin, and carbamazepine, or antiemetic drugs metoclopramide.
If these treatments don't work, your doctor will recommend an injection of a local anesthetic into the nerves between your neck and chest. The next treatment option is the placement of an implant to provide mild electrical stimulation to the nerves to stop the hiccups from happening.
Hiccups are generally harmless body reactions that go away on their own. However, persistent hiccups should get immediate attention. Immediately consult a doctor if it happens protracted.