2006-06-20 22:13:04 · 12 answers · asked by _ 6 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Hic!" You've just hiccuped for what seems like the tenth time since you finished your big dinner. Wonder where these funny noises are coming from? The part to blame is your diaphragm (say: die-uh-fram). This is a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of your chest, and all hiccups start here.
The diaphragm almost always works perfectly. When you inhale, it pulls down to help pull air into the lungs. When you exhale, it pushes up to help push air out of the lungs. But sometimes the diaphragm becomes irritated. When this happens, it pulls down in a jerky way, which makes you suck air into your throat suddenly. When the air rushing in hits your voice box, you're left with a big hiccup.
Some things that irritate the diaphragm are eating too quickly or too much, an irritation in the stomach or the throat, or feeling nervous or excited. Almost all cases of the hiccups last only a few minutes. Some cases of the hiccups can last for days or weeks, but this is very unusual, and it's usually a sign of another medical problem.
You've probably heard lots of suggestions for how to get rid of hiccups, and maybe you've even tried a few. Holding your breath and counting to 10 is one way some people can get rid of their hiccups. Other people say that drinking from the "wrong" side of a glass of water is the way to become hiccup-free.
Putting sugar under your tongue might work, too. And maybe the most famous treatment - having someone jump out and scare you when you're not expecting it - helps some people wave good-bye to their hiccups. Boo!
2006-06-20 22:17:17 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 2⤋
Normally during breathing the diaphragm contracts and flattens, drawing air into the lungs and then forcing air out as it relaxes. A spasm of the diaphragm causes air to be inhaled suddenly. As the air rushes through the airway on its way to the lungs, the opening into the windpipe, called the glottis, closes abruptly. As a result, the flow of air is halted and the vocal cords close rapidly, producing the characteristic hic sound.
2006-06-20 22:19:56 · answer #2 · answered by Jeff 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it's "hiccUps" you're talking about- all those good answers
about the diaphragm and so on, if it's hiccOps, I think
maybe because they been out in the stix too long.
2006-06-20 22:20:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
spasm in the diaphragm
caused by...
Eating too much food too quickly.
Drinking too much alcohol.
Swallowing too much air.
Smoking.
A sudden change in stomach temperature, such as drinking a hot beverage and then a cold beverage.
Emotional stress or excitement...
2006-06-20 22:18:22 · answer #4 · answered by tonysdoll815 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Too much air in your lungs. The only cure for hiccups is drinking a liquid but water works best. There is no useful use for hiccups.
2006-06-20 22:15:58 · answer #5 · answered by Da Great 1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1.an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm and respiratory organs, with a sudden closure of the glottis and a characteristic gulping sound.
2006-06-20 22:21:54 · answer #6 · answered by HeavyRain 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
air caught in your diaphragm (the one between your ribs and guts - not the other kind! :))
If you raise your arms up high, it allows the air to escape
2006-06-20 22:17:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
when you eat to fast or you don't get enough air you body trys to push up air that is stuck
2006-06-20 22:17:21 · answer #8 · answered by katie s 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's a lack of oxygen- your brain is triggering your lungs to get it back. that's why you get them when you laugh really hard because you aren't breathing enough!
2006-06-20 22:15:33 · answer #9 · answered by paige b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hick parents give birth to hick kids that become hick cops and hick truckers and hick waitresses and hick McDonald cashiers and.................
2006-06-20 22:16:51 · answer #10 · answered by Mr. Sacamoco 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋