Hiccups can be a bit annoying and sometimes even funny. Almost everyone gets them at some point. Let’s learn about what causes hiccups, how they happen, and some ways to make them go away.
Hiccups often happen when you eat or drink too fast. But there are other reasons too, like:
Hiccups happen because of a muscle called the diaphragm. This muscle is shaped like a dome and helps you breathe. When the diaphragm gets irritated, it spasms, making you take a quick breath. This causes a flap inside your throat, called the glottis, to close suddenly, making the “hic” sound.
Hiccups usually go away on their own, but here are some things people try to stop them:
Remember, not all remedies work for everyone, so you might need to try a few to see what helps you.
Did you know the longest case of hiccups lasted 68 years? A man named Charles Osborne started hiccuping in 1922 after a hog fell on him, and he kept hiccuping for nearly seven decades! He even made it into the Guinness World Records.
Another interesting case happened in 2007 when a girl named Jennifer Mee from Florida hiccuped over 50 times a minute for about 35 days!
Hiccups are common, but knowing why they happen can make them less mysterious. While there are many remedies, sometimes you just have to wait for them to go away. If you have any fun stories about hiccups, feel free to share them!
Hiccup Experiment: Try to create a hiccup! Ask an adult to help you eat or drink something quickly, like a fizzy drink or a big bite of food. Pay attention to how it feels when you swallow air. Did you get the hiccups? If not, try to remember the last time you had them and what you were doing. Discuss with a friend or family member what might have caused your hiccups.
Diaphragm Discovery: Place your hand on your stomach and take a deep breath in, then slowly breathe out. Feel how your stomach moves. This is your diaphragm working! Try to draw a picture of what you think your diaphragm looks like based on how it feels when you breathe. Share your drawing with your classmates and see how they imagined it!
Remedy Test: With the help of an adult, try out different hiccup remedies from the article. For example, drink a glass of cold water or hold your breath. If you have hiccups, see which remedy works best for you. If you don’t have hiccups, pretend you do and try the remedies anyway. Write down which ones you think would be the most fun or interesting to try if you did have hiccups.
