Does honey help with hiccups?

Does honey help with hiccups?

Does honey help with hiccups?

After a recent bout with the hiccups, my curiosity instigated a desire to find out what causes that little spasm in the diaphragm that results in the uniquely, individual reflexive ‘hiccup’ sound.

We all know how frustrating it can be to get a bad case of the hiccups. A hiccup is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm. Once the contraction occurs, it causes an intake of breath that is suddenly stopped by the vocal cords closing off. The closure of the vocal cords then produces a “hic” type of sound.

Usually, hiccups go away within minutes, but they can go on – and on and on. The longest case on record was suffered by an Iowa pig farmer named Charles Osborne, who reportedly started hiccupping in 1922 when attempting to weigh a hog before slaughtering it. He continued hiccupping, first at the rate of 40 times a minute and then at the rate of 20 times a minute, until February 1990. He died the following year. Having suffered a 20-hour bout of hiccups in association with viral gastro-enteritis, I cannot imagine how Charles Osborne made it through all those years. It was one of the worst periods of my life.

What Causes Hiccups:

• Eating a lot too quickly
• Drinking a hot beverage immediately followed by a cold beverage
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Swallowing too much air
• Stress
• Smoking

Here is a Home Remedies To Cure the Hiccups:

Have a Teaspoon of Honey – Honey can cure almost anything, including hiccups! A teaspoon of honey is all it takes to get rid of those unwanted hiccups. Mix the teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water, and allow it to slide onto the back of your tongue before swallowing.

If your hiccups go on for more than three hours or interfere with your sleep, see your doctor who may prescribe medication to put an end to them. In very severe cases, surgery to disable the phrenic nerve that controls the diaphragm may be recommended. Fortunately, such cases are extremely rare.