Hiccups are the bane of children everywhere, and even adults are not entirely immune from them. Caused by muscular contractions in the diaphragm that are often brought on by inadequate chewing or eating too fast, hiccups interfere with eating, breathing, drinking and speaking. They can also be tenacious, sometimes holding on for hours at a time if no remedies are employed at home to stop them. Fortunately, there is no need to suffer. There are several very effective home remedies you can use to treat hiccups in children and adults.
1- Swallow a spoonful of table sugar. This remedy was popular in the mid-20th century and was often used to treat hiccups in children. It is not known why the sugar works to cure hiccups, but it does.
2- Hold your breath and bear down internally on your diaphragm. The longer you can hold down your diaphragm with your muscles, the better chance you'll have of stopping the hiccups. As you bear down on the diaphragm, it relaxes and stops the contractions that cause hiccups.
3- Drink water in tiny sips while holding your nose. You should sip again and again without a break until you feel as if the water may start coming out of your nose. After about 25 sips, the hiccups will usually stop.
4- Turn yourself upside down. You can either stand on your head or lie across a foot stool with your head hanging down. Bringing your head below the level of your diaphragm like this often stops hiccups in their tracks.
5- Drink some chamomile tea that has been steeped for at least half an hour. The muscle relaxant properties of chamomile work to ease the contractions in your diaphragm that are causing the hiccups.
