drinks are on me blog
Most people have episodes of hiccups from time to time, but why is
this? In most cases, starts for no apparent reason last a
short time, then stops. To understand why, it is necessary
establish exactly what is a hiccup. They are basically a
spasm of the diaphragm and occur when a stimulus activates the nerve
lowering the diaphragm, ie makes the diaphragm contract
involuntary, causing the person to take a breath quick air into his lungs, leading to hiccups. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped hanging leaf muscle below the lungs that, together with the intercostal muscles, makes us breathe. Muscle spasm of these muscles sucks air into the lungs, rapid breathing and has a structure inside the throat (called the epiglottis) off, so when this irregular breath hits the voice box that produces the characteristic "hic" sound. The epiglottis is a flap of tissue between the vocal cords, which closes over the windpipe during swallowing to prevent inhalation of food, fluids or saliva. It is a reflection that nobody can stop, however, unlike other reflexes such as coughing and sneezing, hiccups do not seem to have any useful purpose.
The longest attack of hiccups ever recorded then, lasted an incredible 60 years and is unlikely to ever be the same. Common everyday activities like eating hot and spicy food, drink beverages carbonated, sudden bouts of laughter prolonged, intense emotions, ie shock, fear, excitement, smoke of any kind, excessive smoking, cold air, or water cold, can act as triggers. Not much you can to avoid that as they come without warning, but folklore has gone through many cures, most of which have a physiological basis to explain their apparent success. Examples of this relationship to drinking, such as a drink from the wrong side of a glass of ice water or cold drink soda through a straw. Holding one's breath seems to have a good success rate, but probably the most common of all attempts at a quick fix, is that someone jumps and scares you when you're not waiting. Cure the hiccups, but it weakens your heart!
Mick Burrows writes for http://www.madeyourhiccups.info
click here for more in depth details on the causes of hiccups – right now!