AHHHHH>>> why do we get hiccpsu, i HATE them!!!!?

Question

I hate it when i get hiccups,they are soo annoying,then i thought,why do we get them,what brings them on!

Does anyone know?

Answer 1

Hiccups are defined as a sudden involuntary twitch of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the sheet like muscle across the bottom of your chest cavity which pulls down to draw air into your lungs. So when it twitches you hiccup. All the stories you hear about cures for them center around methods for changing the way you breath. Eg.holding your breath, getting a fright(to cause a gasp), drinking water etc. The real answer is that there is no cure except time,in that they should eventually go away by themselves. What causes them I don't know, but it associated with things you do that mess with the rhythm of your diaphragm, over eating, laughing, swallowing something the wrong way etc. Hope this-hic-helps-hic. Good-hic-luck-hic.

Answer 2

When you hiccup, your diaphragm involuntarily contracts. (The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen. It plays an extremely important role in breathing.)

This contraction of the diaphragm then causes an immediate and brief closure of the vocal cords, which produces the characteristic sound of a hiccup. What actually causes the hiccup is difficult to say - in most instances, there is no obvious cause.

Attacks of the hiccups seem to be associated with a few different things: eating or drinking too fast; being nervous or excited; or having irritation in the stomach and/or throat.

In some extremely rare cases, the underlying cause of hiccups can be pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane lining of the lungs and chest cavity), pneumonia, certain disorders of the stomach or esophagus, pancreatitis, alcoholism, or hepatitis. Any one of these conditions can cause irritation of the diaphragm or of the phrenic nerves that supply the diaphragm - it's the irritation that causes the hiccups.

Still, the cause of most attacks of the hiccups remains a mystery.

Answer 3

Hiccups are paroxysmal, involuntary contractions of the diaphragm that occur along with contractions of the larynx and closure of the glottis, arresting the inflow of air. Hiccups are commonly induced by minor stomach upsets. Occasionally, hiccups may be ascribed to psychogenic causes originating in the mind. Mild cases of hiccups usually disappear without treatment. {Microsoft Encarta}

Hiccups are the result of an action the body takes to protect itself. Hiccups can start because hot food has irritated the phrenic nerve near the esophagus, or when gas in the stomach presses upward against the diaphragm. The diaphragm separates the chest from the stomach. The diaphragm tightens and pulls air into the lungs.

But air can't get through and we feel a "bump" at the moment the air is stopped. So hiccups are a reflex action of the body trying to get food or gas out of the stomach, thereby irritating the diaphragm. This in turn, affects the passage of air in and out of the lungs. We feel this as a "bump" and say we have the hiccups.

{The Big Book Of Tell Me Why, by Arkady Leokum}

Anything that causes irritation of and compression around the diaphragm can cause the condition. Hiccups usually disappear within minutes. Only in rare cases do they persist for hours and require medical attention. Most often, stimulation of the phrenic nerve, which begins at the brain and leads to the diaphragm via the esophagus, brings on attacks of hiccups. Culprits are likely to be breathing in too much air at once, rapid swallowing, alcohol, or stress.

{San Antonio Express News, June 25, 1995}

Hiccups occur when the diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs suddenly contract. This causes a sharp, uncontrollable inhalation of air, which does not reach the lungs because the muscle spasm has closed the windpipe. Hiccups usually occur repeatedly in short spasms lasting a few minutes.

{Marvels of the Human Body, Reader's Digest Book of Facts}

Anything that causes irritation of and compression around the diaphragm can cause hiccups. Alcohol is likely to be one of the culprits