Why does a spoonful of sugar make your hiccups stop?

Answer 1

Doctor Dubois' surefire sugar cure. "One cure that I find effective is a teaspoon of sugar, swallowed dry," says AndrŽ Dubois, M.D., a gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland. "That quite often stops the hiccups in minutes. The sugar is probably acting in the mouth to modify the nervous impulses that would otherwise tell the muscles in the diaphragm to contract spasmodically," he says.

"I've been using that cure since I was little," says Steve Lally, associate editor for Prevention magazine. "It's never failed me yet." Lally, however, recommends a tablespoon of sugar, but that may be a matter of personal taste. Either way, some doctors seem to think sugar is a surefire cure. (Parents take note: One-half teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 4 ounces of water may work wonders on baby's hiccups.)

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I don't know if that works or not but I do know that a hiccup is a rapid spasm of the diaphragm. Next time you have the hiccups, exhale as much as you can (until you have no breath left). Then hold your breath as long as you can (but no too long ha ha). Then take the deepest breath you have ever taken. This forces the diaphragm to stop spasming. I can't see how sugar would affect the diaphragm. Scaring someone is the same concept.

Answer 4

short circuits nerve responses because taste buds are saturated with sweetness .
there are a number of anecdotally prescribed methods to treat casual cases of hiccups, these include being startled, drinking water while upside down, holding one's breath until feeling faint, eating something very sweet or very tart (particularly lemon juice) [2], anything that interrupts ones breathing, and a variety of other treatments

Answer 5

b/c your body can't go into a diabetic coma AND hiccup at the same time......

Nah, Just kidding. I have no idea; only drinking a huge glass of water straight down works for me.

Answer 6

because it removes the tickle in your throat somehow

Answer 7

it doesn't you lie