You are in the middle of a quiet dinner for two, or you have just finished a big meal with the extended family, and you get a major case of the hiccups.
Don’t despair. Hiccups are easily curable. Most cases of the hiccups last a few minutes. Some may last a few days, but that’s usually a sign of another medical problem.
Hiccups are little more than a reflex or an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm that repeats several times a minute. The sudden rush of air into the lungs causes the glottis (the space between the vocal cords) to close, creating the "hic" noise.
Here are a few ways to cure hiccups:
Get a glass of water and a straw. Begin drinking the water and have a friend rub both temples of your head. Relief is immediate!
Swallow something bitter. Ingesting something with an overwhelming taste might jar you out of your spasm. Try sucking on a lemon or swallowing a teaspoon of vinegar.
Pull on it. Open your mouth wide the next time you're under a hiccup attack, grasp your tongue, and give it a gentle yank and hold on to it for several seconds.
Sweeten it. Sprinkle some sugar on the back of your tongue and swallow. Or mix a teaspoonful into a shot of bitters and gulp it down.
Heed a gag order. Put your finger down your throat as if you're forcing yourself to throw up, although don't go so far as to actually vomit. A little gagging might be enough to disrupt the rhythm of your hiccups.
Yogurt. Eating a bowl full of yogurt with a pinch of salt is also a good remedy.
