Tuesday, August 3, 2010

How to cure your hiccups

Today I was craving soda, so I picked up a wild cherry Pepsi on my way back from lunch in the park to enjoy at my desk while I worked on my afternoon tasks. As soon as I took the first sip, I started hiccuping. It seems to run in my family. Whenever my mom, sister, and I go to the movies together, they take one drink of the fountain beverage and then we're that annoying group of women who can't stop hiccuping through the previews. Right now, I'm that annoying girl disrupting the quiet of my office oh, every 2 seconds or so with a muffled hiccup.

Everyone has their favorite technique to get rid of em. Mine happens to be first, drinking more of the bubbly stuff that gave them to me in the first place, and then pressing on my diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle spasming that forces you make that awful sound. It's located right below your breastbone. If you press your fingers to your tummy just below where your left and right rib cages meet, it should be right there. When you are hiccuping, you can feel it bouncing up and down. Gently press in towards your spine, and hold while in-between hiccups. It usually does the trick. But today, it didn't. So I started googling ways to stop hiccups before my conference call later today. We've all heard that you can hold your breath, or have someone scare you, but there a lots of other home remedies out there that aren't quite so common. Here are some of the highlights:

-A spoonful of sugar (especially effective if held on the back of the tongue--the "sour center" of your taste buds)
-Stick your fingers in your ears (this comes in handy to block out annoying coworkers ranting about their personal problems too!)
-Drink water (this works the best when done upside down, or from the far end of the cup)
-Pull on your tongue (stick it out and give it a good yank)
-Be tickled (might be inappropriate while at work)
-Breathe into a paper bag
-Take an antacid (if you can get it down in between hiccuping)
-Swallow a spoonful of peanut butter without chewing (better make it creamy, not chunky)
-Lean back and put a penny on your forehead, hiccups should stop after 3 more hiccups
-Drink pickle juice
-And the most original, Have someone ask you "What swims in the sea?" You answer, "Fish" and your hiccups are gone.

What's your go to way to get rid of hiccups?

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