Six Great Tips on How to Cure Hiccups

Curing somebody else’s hiccups will surely gain you much trust, respect and a lot of thanks. Here are some great tips on how to cure somebody else’s hiccups.

Curing somebody else’s hiccups will surely gain you much trust, respect and a lot of thanks. Here are some great tips on how to cure somebody else’s hiccups.

First, you have to assess the situation simply because in some cases, hiccups may indicate that the person really needs immediate medical attention. That is if hiccups had lasted for days or if the victim is suffering from it after taking prescribed medicine, you should get medical help. Also, if the hiccups occur in association with another illness such as muscle weakness on the side of the body, severe vomiting, or very bad stomach pain, and prolonged cough, medical attention is warranted.

But if the hiccup is merely a run-of-the mill case, you may try each of these proven and true methods until you will be able to find the one that works. Remember that trying to scare the victim (as many would recommend) is a silly way of curing a hiccup and is proven not to work.

Tip #1. While bending over, have the hiccuper drink water from the far side of the glass.

Tip #2. You may ask the hiccuper to hold his/her breath for as long as he/she can.

Tip #3. Have the victim to take ten sips of water all in one breath.

If these three tips are difficult to attempt or none of it works, you may try to change your strategy and try some sweetness.

Tip #4. This tip is especially helpful for children. Remember Mary Poppins singing “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”. Simply following her advice, administer one teaspoon of sugar or peanut butter and have the victim swallow it fast. Usually, the hiccups will go away on the first try. If not, you may try it for several times once every two minutes.

Note: If the hiccuper is a young child, you may use one teaspoon of corn syrup instead of sugar or peanut butter.  After administering, lay the child down for a few minutes.

Tip #5. If the hiccuper is a baby, let them be. For most part, leave a hiccupping baby alone. Give him/her a bottle of if it makes you feel better. This is because some doctors think that baby hiccups may be due to overstimulation. That is if you notice that the baby hiccups during a particularly stimulating activity, you should decrease or eliminate that activity instantly.

Tip #6. Even history had some tips on how to cure a hiccup. Plato quotes an exchange between the playwright Aristophanes and the physician Eryximachus that took place sometime in 400 BC. The playwright asked the physician to heal his hiccups. The physician exclaimed “Let me recommend that you should hold your breath and if this fails, gargle with a little water; and if the hiccup still continues, tickle you nose with something and sneeze, and if you sneeze once or twice, even the most violent hiccup is sure to go”.