What are Hiccups and how to get rid of hiccups?

Hiccups are not life threatening or an emergency type of health condition. If anything, they are a nuisance to a person that has to deal with them. While hiccups might not be dangerous condition they can be very annoying. The following information will describe what hiccups are and how a person can get rid of this irritating condition.
What are hiccups?
Hiccups are the involuntary muscle jerks that happens when a person’s throat or stomach becomes irritated by some type of stimuli. The official name for hiccups are myoclonus and this is a medical term that describes muscles jerks. Myoclonus is not a problem for most people and it is considered a normal type of condition that most people experience. Just so you know, myoclonus can also affect a person’s body if they have conditions such as epilepsy, metabolic disorders or if they have a reaction to medication.
Now that you understand myoclonus let’s explain it in the context of a hiccup. This explanation will be useful in letting you know how to treat this problem. Hiccups are a result of the diaphragm that does not work properly. When a person’s diaphragm become irritated it jerks suddenly causing a person to draw air into their throat.
When this happens, your vocal cords close and this in turn creates a hiccup. Remember that your diaphragm is used as a part of the breathing process. For the most part, it goes unnoticed by most people. However, everyone will become aware of it once they experience hiccups.
What factors contribute to hiccups?
Hiccups can be caused by a variety of different things. They could include:
Laughing too much or too hard
Consuming carbonated beverages
Drinking or eating too much food
Eating food to quickly
Being scared, afraid or nervous
Taking certain prescription medications
All of these factors could lead to hiccups. There are many more things that can also cause hiccups as well.

how to get rid of hiccups
There is no cure for hiccups. I’ll state this fact again in a different way. Hiccups cannot be cured. The only way that a person’s body gets rid of hiccups is by getting their diaphragm back in order. Even though hiccups cannot be “treated”, there are some things that people can do to help their diaphragm to readjust itself.
A person can hold their breath
People can have the hiccups scared out of them.
Gargle with ice water
People can breathe into a paper bag
People can pull out their tongue which in turn is supposed to stop their diaphragm from having convulsions.
Covering the mouth is also supposed to help
Place 4 teaspoons of sugar in a 16-ounce glass of water, pinch your nose and then drink the solution. This sounds extremely strange but it has been known to work.
A person can also plug their ears until the sound is partially blocked. They should then take a deep breath before swallowing 3 – 6 times without taking a breath between the swallows. Ultimately, this should cause the diaphragm to readjust itself.
A person can also inhale and hold their breath and then count to 20 before exhaling. Repeat this process often until your diaphragm starts to correct itself.
People can also drink water and in some cases, they can squeeze the ball of their left thumb between the thumb and forefinger on their right hand. Some people also claim that breathing slowly, blowing on the thumb and lying down while stretching out will help to get rid of hiccups. None of these methods are foolproof for getting rid of hiccups. The point is that there are different approaches for people to help get their diaphragm back in order so that it no longer produces the hiccup effect.