2007-01-11 18:32:40 · 7 answers · asked by Happy Dude 2 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Hiccups are sudden, involuntary contractions of the diaphragm muscle. As the muscle contracts repeatedly, the opening between your vocal cords snaps shut to check the inflow of air and makes the hiccup sound. Irritation of the nerves that extend from the neck to the chest can cause hiccups.
Although associated with a variety of ailments (some can be serious such as pneumonia or when harmful substances build up in the blood for example from kidney failure), hiccups are not serious and have no clear reason for occurring.
Hiccups Causes
Many conditions are associated with hiccups, but none has been shown to be the cause of hiccups.
* If you eat too fast, you can swallow air along with your food and end up with a case of the hiccups.
* Any other practices that might irritate the diaphragm such as eating too much (especially fatty foods) or drinking too much (drunk people hiccup) can make you prone to having hiccups.
* In these instances, your stomach, which sits underneath and adjacent to the diaphragm, is distended or stretched. Because they occur in relation to eating and drinking, hiccups are sometimes thought to be a reflex to protect you from choking.
2007-01-11 18:39:05 · answer #1 · answered by melissa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a spasm in the muscle that controls your breathing.
The muscle is called the diaphragm, and it's like a shelf that sits under your lungs. When it expands, it forces the air out of your lungs, and when it relaxes, air goes back into your lungs to equalize pressure between your body and the outside.
The diaphragm is controlled by a nerve called the phrenic nerve, and when it gets irritated or gets a tic, it causes a spasm in the diaphragm. The diaphragm starts jerking, rather than its normal smooth movements, and voila! you have the hiccups.
Sometimes you can control the hiccups and make them go away by putting your hand down on the lower part of your chest, above your abdomen, and focusing on your breathing and trying to control it and make it a very smooth inhale and exhale. This sometimes calms the spasms and makes the hiccups go away.
Hope that helps.
2007-01-12 02:41:53 · answer #2 · answered by Bronwen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
kevin, hiccups are caused by irritation of the phrenic nerve, this is one of the nerve that passes thru our stomach, irritation of the phrenic nerve is caused by fullness ( when we eat a lot ) to much alcohol, gas in the stomach or in fact anything that causes our stomach to bloat. The less mature the nerve is the more prone it is to stimulus ( which is why we see more babies with hiccups than older people ) ( which is actually good because babies are cute when they have hiccups but not grandma od grandpa )... there are a lot of home remedies for hiccups from drinking straight a big glass of water, holding your breath to giving the person a big fright, none of them has any scientific explanation but the good news is they all seem to have varying degrees os success...
2007-01-12 02:46:24 · answer #3 · answered by Clive Roland 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have hick ups due to too much carbon dioxide in the air and when your lungs could no longer manage to tolerate it, that's the time you will have hick ups. The best remedy so as to remove hick ups is to inhale and exhale in a paper bag. Also, it is better to put plants indoor so as to produce more oxygen for the body and the plants will take care of the carbon dioxide.
2007-01-12 02:41:58 · answer #4 · answered by Mutya P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The following site will give you way more information about hiccups that you probably want to know.
2007-01-12 02:37:57 · answer #5 · answered by mental 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your diaphram is having muscle spasms
2007-01-12 02:36:18 · answer #6 · answered by tansyangeni 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiccup
Read the above.
2007-01-12 02:36:17 · answer #7 · answered by Hyphon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋