Cure for hiccups

(updated 10/10/2006)

A cure for hiccups...

I discovered this cure for myself about twenty-five years ago (back in the mid-70's). Everyone who has tried it at my request has been cured also.

Ready 4 to 6 oz. of water in a glass. Take a small breath and hold it. Wait until you feel pressured to breathe, then drink the water instead. (The desire to breathe passes while you drink the water.) Exhale normally and begin breathing again after swallowing the water.

It may seem odd that you can drink water while holding your breath, but you can. In looking around the Internet today, I even found a site touting a concocted liquid remedy called Hiccups Away which is taken in the same manner - "For difficult cases, take a deep breath, while holding in the breath swallow the contents of two packages."

Now, while it may be true that the hiccups are gone after using this concoction, I don't think that it's their product that is the remedy. I think it's the tension in the throat and chest area from not breathing followed by drinking (some liquid) that somehow disrupts and ends the hiccup reflex action. Plain water would (and does) work just as well.