Hiccups are one of life’s little annoyances, but once you learn this little trick, you won’t have to suffer with them for long. (And no, you don’t have to drink a glass of water upside down or have someone scare you to get rid of them!)
What are hiccups and what causes them?
Hiccups are simply involuntary muscle spasms of the diaphragm muscle. They can occur for a number a reasons, including eating too fast and swallowing air, chewing gum, eating or drinking too much, stress or anxiety, or there are more serious causes like nerve damage, brain tumors, and strokes.
While there’s not necessarily an easy fix for those serious causes, when you get hiccups from swallowing air or eating too fast, there is a relatively simple solution– you need to stretch the muscle that’s spasming.
A hiccup fix that actually works.
If you woke up in the middle of the night with a leg cramp or muscle spasms, what would you do?
Stretch it, right?
The same logic applies to hiccups. Your diaphragm muscle needs to be stretched to help stop the spasms.
How to Get Rid of Hiccups:
- To stretch your diaphragm muscle, take a deep breath and hold it for a count of 10.
- Without letting that breath go, take another deep breath and hold it for a count of 10.
- Without letting that breath go, take one more deep breath and hold it for a count of 10. (Or as long as you can at this point– your stomach and lungs should feel VERY full of air.)
- Slowly breathe out and then return to breathing normally.
You’ve just stretched your diaphragm!
By taking all of those deep breaths, you’ll feel your stomach and lungs protrude out, giving that area a nice, deep stretch. I think this is also why drinking lots of water or even being scared can sometimes “work” as a cure for hiccups– because they might also stretch the diaphragm muscle. This method is just a little more direct.
Just one breathing session is usually enough to stop a bout of hiccups, but repeat the above steps if you couldn’t complete them the first time, or if your hiccups return. (Sometimes I’ll have a hiccup during my first round of breathing so I’ll have to start over to get the full stretch in.)
I hope this technique will help you stop hiccups in their tracks the next time they happen to you. Personally, I find them SO ANNOYING, so having this method in my back-pocket is a sanity saver!
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Reader Feedback: Do you have a go-to cure for getting rid of hiccups fast? Feel free to share more ideas in the comments below!
Milli
Hi Megan,
I might try this next time I get hickups. I have tried so my different techniques but there is only one that ever really worked for me since I was a toddler. I close my ears with my fingers and then take little sips of a drink (preferably non carbonated water) and swallow Minäkinreally slowly and carefully. Using a straw works if you have Noone around to hold your glass. I do this till I feel my body relaxing. Sometimes, like you, I need to start over if a hickup gets through.
It looks strange and my boyfriend always feels really embarrassed but it ALWAYS works. And I get hickups quite often and sometimes really bad.
Try it! Might be an easier solution for your kids.
Thanks for all your hard work!!
Milli
Hope
This worked so well for me, thanks for sharing.My husband walked in on me and started laughing at me but who cares when it works!
Anna
Stretches have never worked for me. Just eat a teaspoon of peanut butter. Cures hiccups every time.
Anonymous
Anna,
Genius! Worked instantly. Peanut Butter!!!
Christa rakich
Don’t know why, but a trick I learned from my teacher in second grade works every time. Hands make soft fists, then extend your index fingers and bring the tips as close to one another as you can, without touching. Really concentrate. Worked on 6-year-old me, still works on 65-year-old me. Thank you, Sister Mary Celeste!
Katy
Thank you for the awesome tip! Never knew the science behind hiccups!
Amber
The one fix that has always worked for me – take a mouthful of water, plug your ears with your fingers, bend over at the waist and swallow. I think it has something to do with not swallowing air; I’m not sure. I just know even if I occasionally have to do it a second time that’s all it takes and it works.
Ray
Wow, when all hope I lost , I did your trick and hey, there it went away, thank you so much
naltrexone
I can’t believe it, this really works instantly!!! Thank you!
Genevieve
I just did three rounds of this and it worked like a charm! Thanks for sharing!
Megan Gilmore
I’m so glad it worked for you!
rod
thank you for this!!
Megan Gilmore
My pleasure!
Rabia
It works for me.
Thank you
Megan Gilmore
Glad to hear it!
saikat chowdhury
Really it works like magic. I have just got rid of from hiccups by doing two breathing sessions.
Megan Gilmore
Awesome! I’m glad it worked for you!
Momna
It worked like a charm.I did it on my first go and my hiccups went away with no struggle.
Thank you
xx
Megan Gilmore
I’m so glad it worked for you!
Akiva Centner
Breath in. Keep breathing in even when you can’t anymore. Keep trying for 5 to 10 seconds. Breath out slowly and gently. May need to to 3 times
LAura
This worked so great for me….:)!!!!!!
Uju
OMG!This worked like magic.I never knew this all my life.i tried it and got an instant result.Thank you so much for sharing.You saved a soul.😘😘😘😘
Megan Gilmore
Awesome!! Glad it worked on your first try!
PatriceNY
Totally hasn’t worked and I’ve done it 7 times now.
Alexandra
Same… I’ve been having hiccups for so long and nothing makes them go away…
Glenn
Hi,
I found your site yesterday while boarding a plane & couldn’t stop hiccuping. NOTHING worked, including several acupressure sites that usu. work for me! Thank you for your Website!
I have to add something to it that might help it work better. I’ve been doing a lot of work with Chinese/Asian exercises, which stress deep breathing and lung work (to increase the flow of breath into the lungs). When I did your exercise (above), I turned my head to the side & inhaled as deeply as I could, but still hiccupped. Then I put my hands near my groin, fingers in, thumbs facing my hips, which opens the lungs a bit more. Then I could inhale more, and THAT stretched the spasm out & the hiccups stopped! Hopefully this extra step might help someone else, too?
Thank you again for posting this! I really was desperate & you saved me!!
Glenn Allen
Lake Hiawatha, NJ
(please don’t be jealous, b/c there is no lake!)
Jennifer
Thanks! That actually worked for me.
Michael
Thank you! It hasn’t worked yet, but it think it has lessened the intensity of the hiccups, I’m sure it will work eventually!
Ashish
It really works. Thanks a lot.
Jamie Warner
Worked instantly 😊😊
Claudia
Had the hiccups… googled…. found this.. tried it and it WORKED!! Thank you!!!
Kim
Thank you so much for this! I just woke up (it’s midnight) with a horrible case of the hickups. This worked on the first try. Thank you!
Peters go oyebode
Been having hiccups for days just tried your breathing techniques and it worked.
Sara
THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. I’ve been holding my breath for 30-60 seconds to stop my hiccups for years, but never thought of it as stretching the diaphragm. The series of inhalations is a new one on me, though, and it helps a lot. Thank you!
jimah
for me I jst eat enough garden egg ..it really WOrks for me
plz try the method if it works for u too
Saadia ramzan
I was getting so annoyed with my hiccups. I tried this technique and it worked! Thank you x
Andie
Hi Megan,
This worked for me and I am SUPER great full. Thanks so much for sharing this with everyone!
Enya
Thank you! Usually the ‘drinking water upside down’ trick works for me, but wasn’t this time. So glad I found this. Did 3 rounds to be sure and it’s worked a treat!
Danny
It worked on the first try.. thank you
Megan Gilmore
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know!
Andrew Demetriou
Perfect tip saved me alot of discomfort
AmanDa
Thank you!!! Had them for a while there, held my breath, drank water backwards etc and gave in and used google cause my usual methods didn’t work… read and used your tips… and low and behold no more hiccups so seriously thank you!!! X
Baas
Fantastic tip!
Worked one the first attemp
Remembering for future instances
Amanda
Doesn’t breathing in involve contracting the diaphragm? So you technically are doing the opposite of stretching it.
r
woah! this worked for me straight away! i am so surprised but so thankyit worked! thank you (:
Gorwade s s
I must appreciate this article where found the best remedy to my hiccups in the midnight. Counting till 10 works faster. It help me solving my problem. Thanks.
V
It worked..TQ
Lizzy Mcarthur
I always take 9 drinks of room temperature water, and it works every time!!
Cruisecontrol
I relax my diaphragm by sitting up straight and fully relaxing my stomach muscles, allowing it to extend as much as possible. My hiccups usually stop immediately.
Levon
It worked!!! I’m so relieved after trying everything, this actually worked. Thank you!
🥰
My bf was getting a little anxious at his seemingly intense hiccups, and this worked like a charm for him! Thanks so much!
kai
thank you for your help!! i’ve been try all sorts of method and this is the only one that works
Humaira
I was fasting and couldn’t try to drink water or have peanut butter and this tip helped so much . 2 sessions and I was saved
Michael Silvester
Didnt work for me. Ive had Hiccups for 12hrs now.
Ays33
My husband just woke me up in the middle of the night because he had hiccups and had tried everything to get rid of them. I found this and he tried it and they instantly stopped. Lifesaver 🙌🏻
Megan Gilmore
I’m so happy to hear it worked for him!
Sab
Worked first time! THANK YOU!!
Megan Gilmore
I’m so glad to hear that!
Leanne Bradbury
That worked first time that’s amazing will remember this in future thank you for sharing and helping others. Xx
Mary
This worked on the first try – thank you!
Jacob
Thank you
Abdel-Rahman
It worked for me. Thank you!