Does Scaring Someone Cure the Hiccups???

Recently I had hiccups and my dad startled me to get rid of it, and that got me thinking does the spike of adrenaline one gets when startled an actual cure for hiccups? Well we did some research and this is what we got :). Note we are not medical professionals therefore we dont have the knowledge to claim this as fact we just looked at many sources and compiled them.

First what actually happens when we get hiccups, it is a sudden contraction (process when muscle is made shorter) in our diaphragm that causes the muscles in your chest and abdomen to shake. Your glottis (part of the throat where your vocal cords are located) closes creating a noise which is the noise of the air exiting your lungs making an involuntary noise ‘hic’.

The cause of this involuntary contraction is eating to quickly and swallowing air along with your foods. Or by eating to much fatty foods and too much carbonated drinks such as alcohol. (There are medical conditions that cause constant and non stop hiccups but for the purpose of this article we will be referring to a common hiccup that lasts for a short period of time.)

Now does getting a fright actually cure your hiccups, well not exactly. There is no solid scientific proof that scaring someone is a cure for the hiccups.

The Cleveland Clinic conducted a study to see whether common household remedies or wives tales could cure the hiccups which includes frightening individual, holding one’s breath, eyeball compression (Author’s note what even is eyeball compression and has anyone tried to do it to cure their hiccups) and Carbon Dioxide inhalation (and Nasogastric tube placement and gastric lavage – but they aren’t something one can simply do at home) which all proved ineffective to cure hiccups. The conditions of the experiment weren’t shared, so I am unaware of the patients conditions whether it was a longer than an average hiccup. Therefore I continued my research.

The Cleveland Clinic Study: http://civiceducation.clevelandclinic.org/Student-Projects/Student-Projects/2014-Fact-or-Fiction-Does-Scaring-A-Person-Get-Rid.aspx

Here is another article that has a different answer, FC&A Publishing says that the effectiveness of the fright depends on your reaction. Like most frights it is more effective when it is unexpected. The science behind the fright to cure your average hiccups, is when you get that jolt your nerve system resets and your diaphragm goes back to normal, hiccup free.

FC&A Publishing article: https://fca.com/blogs/news/can-a-boo-banish-hiccups

In conclusion, scaring someone isn’t the most effective way on curing your average hiccups. Sorry for not giving a satisfying yes or no to the question, however like I said the study didn’t include the environment of the study for example the sample size and if they were expecting it or not. Nor do we know if the sample size was less effected my “jump scares”.

Here is a list of more effective remedies to cure the hiccups according to the Medical News Today, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9896#prevention

I hope you enjoyed this article, let us know any of the other remedies to the hiccups that you have learnt as it would be intresting to see other families bizarre remedies are.

Personally our family says that drinking water upside down (not actually while upside down- that is a choking hazard) cures the hiccups.

~Stay Curious~