How to Stop Hiccuping
Sent to subscribers on Jun 4, 2024. Reproduced here as it was written.
Welcome back to The Renewal.
My girlfriend has debilitating hiccups.
We've been blacklisted from most restaurants, theaters, and casinos. None of the tricks worked. Drinking water upside down, breathing through a paper bag, telling herself she's not a fish, nothing.
And as if we weren't down bad enough, she has now developed angry hiccups. They're so infuriatingly uncontrollable that it forces her into a tantrum.
All I can do is make fun of her which only makes the angry hiccups worse.
This one's for you, mon petit chou chou (my little cabbage).
How to solve hiccups
Fortunately, there's a simple way to get rid of hiccups.
Hiccups are spasms in the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm (muscle under your lungs that guides breathing). If you can stop the phrenic nerve from spasming, you can stop hiccuping.
To alleviate the chest chortles:
Inhale maximally (via your nose) 3 times with no exhales in between.
Hold your breath for 15-30 seconds.
Slowly exhale (via your mouth).
You are hyper-exciting, then over-relaxing the phrenic nerve. As far as we know, this is the most efficient and science-supported way to eliminate hiccups because it targets the root cause. If it doesn't work the first time, try again.
For some, hiccups are their favorite feeling in the world. And don't worry, I didn't forget about you few hiccup-loving freaks.
How to get the hiccups:
Drinking from a garden hose
The Krispy Kreme Challenge - 2400 calories, 12 Doughnuts, 5 Miles, 1 Hour
Chugging a gallon of milk - the real disaster happens after when it curdles in your tummy
Inhaling a bee while sniffing flowers
The One Chip Challenge
A visit from the tickle monster
Blowing up a bouncy castle by mouth
Being bad at beer pong