Two sudden and involuntary contractions within the diaphragm cause hiccups. You can get hiccups if you eat too much or too fast or if you eat victuals disagreeable to your system Hiccups, occasionally, can indicate serious conditions which include pneumonia, pancreatitis, bladder irritation, uremia, stomach disorders etc. Mild ones not lasting more than thirty minutes are never cause for concern.
Granny’s gambols for mild attacks comprise holding your breath for a tolerably long spell, drinking a glass of water while holding your breath and swallowing in rapid successions three times a glass of water duly holding your breath.
If these methods do not work hold a paper bag tightly over your nose and mouth and breathe in and for a minute or two. The relatively high level of carbon dioxide in blood shall inhibit hiccups.
There is a diaphragm located between the chest and the stomach. While inhaling air the diaphragm presses down on the stomach and the lungs are filled with air. While exhaling the diaphragm presses on the lungs and we exhale air. The diaphragm functions like a piston. But sometimes due to the formation of gas or increase of acidity in the stomach the diaphragm gets irritated and as a result contracts suddenly. In such a situation the air passing into the lungs experiences obstruction and makes a peculiar sound. This is nothing but a hiccup. Hiccups can also be caused by eating or drinking too much or too fast. It may also be a symptom of mineral disorders and brain-stem disease.
Hiccupping is just a reflex action of the body by which it protects itself. There is a diaphragm located between the chest and the stomach. While inhaling air this diaphragm goes down and presses the stomach due to which the lungs are filled with air; while exhaling air, the diaphragm goes up and the air comes out from the lungs. Thus the diaphragm goes up and down and the process of respiration continues incessantly without making any sound.
The diaphragm functions like a piston. But sometimes, due to the formation of gas or increase of acidity in the stomach, the diaphragm gets irritated and as a result contracts suddenly. In such a situation, the air passing into the lungs experiences obstruction and makes a peculiar sound. Therefore hiccup is a process by which the body tries to expel gas or undesirable food material out of the stomach so that respiration remains unobstructed. Shrinking of the diaphragm due to drinking or the growth of a tumour near it also causes hiccup. This can be stopped by drinking a glass of cold water.