COMMON PROBLEMS SORTED: WHAT CAUSES HICCUPS?

What causes… hiccups?

Hiccups are annoying but usually harmless. They happen when your diaphragm, the large muscle in the chest that helps you breathe, starts to spasm repeatedly. This makes you inhale suddenly, your vocal cords snap shut, and this causes the distinctive sound. We don’t know exactly why this happens, but hiccups can be triggered by eating too much or too quickly, drinking alcohol or fizzy drinks, changes in temperature or stress.

To cure hiccups, it helps to put pressure on the diaphragm with water or air. Try breathing in and out slowly, taking a big intake of breath and holding it, or drinking water with your head tipped back – holding your nose is optional. If your hiccups last for days or hours rather than a few minutes, see your GP. However, if you are plagued by transient hiccups, a gadget, HiccAway, was developed by a neuroscientist and relies on drinking water through a straw that forces you to suck hard to put pressure on the diaphragm. Reviews suggest it can be effective.

HiccAway £11.99 Amazon.co.uk