Hiccups for a long time. Features of hiccups in children, pregnant women and the fetus. What to do with hiccups in adults on an outpatient basis

Short-term hiccups can occur in healthy people after hypothermia or drinking alcohol. This phenomenon often occurs without a reason. But persistent, often occurring and long-lasting hiccups is a reason to contact a gastroenterologist or neurologist.

Find out what hiccups are and how they occur. Is she dangerous? Consider the factors that provoke it, and the diseases that cause it. Find out what you need to do with hiccups so that it stops. Let's look into these issues.

What is a hiccup?

Hiccups are usually harmless, but highly annoying

The concept of hiccups refers to a violation of the function of external respiration as a result of convulsive contractions of the diaphragm. The phenomenon is manifested by short but strong respiratory movements. The contraction of the diaphragm is controlled by the autonomic nervous system and is not amenable to human consciousness.

At the moment of hiccups, the lungs are so expanded that they cause the diaphragm to contract sharply in jerks. As a result, a sharp exhalation occurs involuntarily. A strong flow of air from the lungs irritates the larynx in such a way that it blocks the glottis. This is what causes the guttural sound.

What are the types of hiccups?

Short-term hiccups come in the form of seizures. Its duration is no more than 10-15 minutes.

It occurs with such everyday factors that can temporarily irritate the diaphragm - hunger, cold, heavy drinking or hastily swallowed food.

Prolonged hiccups appear every day for more than two weeks. Attacks do not stop for several hours or days. By origin, it is divided into three types of hiccups:

The danger of prolonged hiccups is that it can be a sign of a severe organic disease of the brain, abdominal organs or chest.

In such cases, it is accompanied by vomiting, nausea, general malaise and headache. Prolonged convulsive contractions of the diaphragm require examination. The cause of hiccups can be of various origins - from diseases of the brain and heart to helminthiasis.

Why hiccups occur

Short-term contraction of the diaphragm occurs in healthy people. The phenomenon can appear in babies and adults with hypothermia. The cause of temporary hiccups may be factors in which the diaphragm is irritated:

• hunger;
• full stomach;
• dry food;
• thirst;
• hasty food.

But hiccups can be a sign of any pathological process in any organ. The cause of prolonged hiccups is an extensive list of diseases:

• skull trauma;
• encephalitis;
• uremic and diabetic coma;
• tumor in the mediastinum;
• tumor in the posterior fossa of the brain;
• alcohol intoxication;

Hiccups can occur if a person has drunk too much

• pneumonia;
• intoxication in infectious diseases;
• barbiturate poisoning;
• stroke;
• pancreatitis;
• diaphragmatic hernia;
• pericarditis;
• pleurisy;
• increase in intracranial pressure in diseases or brain injury;
• reflux esophagitis;
• stomach ulcer;
• stenosis of the pylorus of the stomach;

pyloric stenosis

• malignant and inflammatory diseases of the biliary tract;
• tumors of the stomach and pancreas.

Prolonged hiccups should not be ignored. Nothing happens in the body without a reason. Diseases are detected by modern high-tech instrumental methods of examining CT (computed tomography) of the chest and abdomen. An accurate and safe method of examining the brain is MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Contrast radiography of the stomach shows neoplasms and peptic ulcer.

What to do during an attack of hiccups?

The measures by which spasms of the diaphragm can be relieved depend on the cause of the phenomenon. In case of hiccups due to the cold, you can simply drink hot tea or warm yourself under a hot shower. In case of overeating, you will have to empty the stomach of excess food, and next time be moderate in eating.

Eating dry food or an unchewed piece of bread will definitely get stuck on the way to the stomach somewhere at the level of the diaphragm and cause hiccups. Food must be chewed so that it does not cause a reflex contraction of the diaphragm.

To eliminate persistent or transient hiccups, simple methods help:

• Hiccups can go away when you hold your breath while inhaling for 15-20 seconds.
• After exhaling into a paper bag, you need to take a deep breath from it. This should be repeated several times.
• Rinsing of the pharynx. During the procedure, the esophagus is stretched, which reflexively affects the diaphragm.
• Drink a glass of cold water in one gulp.

You can get rid of hiccups by drinking a glass of water

• Press on the eyeballs.
• Helps stop hiccups taking granulated sugar without water. This method has a reflex effect on the pharynx receptors.
• Induce a gag reflex by pressing a finger on the root of the tongue, but do not bring to vomiting. This stimulates the vagus nerve. At the same time, the body switches to fighting the gag reflex, because it is stronger than hiccups.
• Valsalva reception. To perform it, you need to take a deep breath and, holding your breath for 15 seconds, strain hard. Then what you expected will happen - the hiccups will reflexively stop.
• If hiccups occur after drinking carbonated drinks, you can drink mint drops with water. They relax the esophageal sphincter. In this case, the gases leave the stomach, and the hiccups stop.
• Massage the upper palate with the tip of the tongue or finger.
• Pull the lobes of both ears.

Some people can get rid of hiccups by simply pulling back on their earlobes.

These reflex techniques help in case of a transient attack. Persistent hiccups, which can last for a long time, are treated with medication.

Physical Methods

Exercises combined with breathing movements help to eliminate spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm. To do this, do the following exercises:

• Lie on your back, hanging your head. The point of the exercise is to keep the head below the diaphragm.
• While inhaling, rise on your toes, while pulling your arms up. When exhaling, you need to lean forward.
• Sit on a chair, snuggle tightly against its back. Then take a deep breath, wrap your arms around yourself and lean forward. Counting to 10, slowly exhale.

Physical methods eliminate neurogenic spasms of the diaphragm, as well as those associated with gastric overflow.

Medical treatment

For persistent hiccups, seek medical attention

And a completely different approach to eliminating hiccups due to the disease that causes it. If the cause of hiccups is a peptic ulcer, you can use kinetic medications. These include Motilium, Cerucal. They relieve the excitability of the diaphragmatic muscle, regulate the motor activity of the gastric wall. In some cases, antispasmodics No-shpa, Spazmalgon, Baralgin help relieve hiccups. Seizures of neurogenic origin help stop the combined drug Corvalol.

If the hiccups do not go away within 48 hours, and there is pain and heartburn behind the sternum, it is recommended to contact a neurologist who knows what to do for hiccups.

In the hospital, several combinations of medicines are used:

• Intravenous administration of the neuroleptic drug Chlorpromazine.
• Combination or separate use of drugs Omeprazole and Cisapride.
• Baclofen has an antispasmodic effect. It is also used to reduce the excitability of the diaphragm.
• Other drugs are also used - Amphetamine, Scopolamine, Phenobarbital.
• Inhalation with carbon dioxide is also used. It irritates the respiratory center. This relaxes the intercostal and diaphragmatic muscles.
• It is used for hiccups blockade of the phrenic nerve with a solution of Procaine or Novocain.

In some cases, blockade of the nerves of the diaphragm with novocaine is used.

With diaphragmatic pleurisy, wearing a tight-fitting corset is used. Persistent hiccups are difficult to treat. In some cases, resort to surgical intervention on the phrenic or vagus nerve.

Analyzing the above, we draw conclusions. Episodic hiccups occur in healthy people with hypothermia or overflow of the stomach. It can be eliminated by simple methods of influencing the reflexogenic zones or by physical exercises. Persistent, lasting hours and days of hiccups, is a sign of an organic disease. The cause may be a severe pathology of any organ. Such cases require a visit to a gastroenterologist, a neurologist for examination and treatment.

Hiccups causes in adults how to stop will want to know those who are bothered by the problem of hiccups. Why does an adult hiccup? It is believed that hiccups are not a serious problem and there is nothing to talk about.

How to stop hiccups in adults, what is hiccups:

Hiccups - a sharp spasm of the diaphragm (not an arbitrary contraction of the muscles of the diaphragm), the culprit of this is a sharp breath, leading to a decrease in the glottis.

The diaphragm itself is dome-shaped, it separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. When energized, the dome drops down. With a smooth entry, everything is fine. Hiccups can be from 4 times to 60 per minute.

The state of the diaphragm is affected by:

1. Next to the liver.
2. Stomach.

Hypothermia: (the body seeks to activate all the muscles with the help of heat, and hence the diaphragm). The reason is considered very harmless.

Binge eating: in a normal state, our stomach occupies no more than a fist. When it is able to stretch up to 2 - 2.5 liters in volume. The stomach touches the phrenic nerve, causing hiccups.

Liver dysfunction: when it increases, compression of the phrenic nerve occurs. Outcome - hiccups.

Chronic hiccups: occurs in patients with lesions of the spinal nerves. At the level of 4-5 cervical vertebrae, two nerve roots are compressed. They lead to hiccups in turn.

Intracranial pressure in humans: it is a common cause of hiccups, especially in children.

Now I will give a variety of reasons why hiccups are a serious symptom:

• Persistent hiccups may indicate pneumonia. With it, the infection irritates the nerves of the chest or even the diaphragm itself.
• Sometimes it is observed with a hernia in the stomach of the food opening, namely the diaphragm (G. Bergmann's syndrome).
• Severe alcohol poisoning triggers the mechanism of toxic hiccups.
• An enlarged liver due to alcohol intake can curl over the diaphragm and cause hiccups.
• Even with a cancerous tumor that can grow in the chest, hiccups can appear.
• Brain tumors (neurogenic hiccups).
• Mental causes of hiccups also cannot be ignored.

There are many causes for hiccups, but how do you know when to seek medical help?

How to stop hiccups in adults when you need help:

We list all cases:

• The help of a doctor is necessary if you have hiccups for more than an hour.
• Hiccups occur many times a day.
• In addition to hiccups, you are tormented by swallowing disorders, chest pain.
• You need to undergo an examination of the abdominal cavity to rule out liver disease.
• Check the condition of the cervical spine.
• Have a neurologist check intracranial pressure.
• Tomography of the brain is required.

How to stop adult hiccups quickly:

If hiccups do not stop for a long time and are accompanied by more than 10 minutes, antipsychotic drugs (chlorpromazive) are prescribed.

Mandatory treatment of the underlying disease - a provocateur of hiccups in adults.

Sugar:

Eat one teaspoon of sugar. You don't need to drink water. It is very rare that you have to retake sugar after two minutes. The hiccups are gone. Instead of sugar, you can swallow a piece of dry bread or eat some peanut butter.

Oregano oil:

Lubricate the throat with ready-made pharmaceutical oil or simply inhale its aroma. Good for hiccups due to hypothermia.

Unusual way:

During hiccups, press your finger in your mouth against the root of your tongue. This induces vomiting. The spasm of the esophagus that follows relieves spasms of the diaphragm.

Breath hold:

During hiccups, take a deep breath and hold your breath. To facilitate the delay, you need to pinch the nose with two fingers. Exhale sharply.

Another method of holding your breath: inhale and, while holding your breath, strongly strain the diaphragm (squeeze).

Simple hiccup:

Drink a glass of water.

Breathe into the package:

Take a bag and breathe into it while you hiccup. The hiccups stop. This raises the level of carbon dioxide in the blood.

An exercise:

Sit on the floor, press your knees tightly to your stomach, inhale and hold your breath.

With all the above methods, the work of the vagus nerve is stimulated.

How to stop hiccups in adults quickly, recipes:

Lemon:

Eat something bitter or sour. Lemon will help.

Massage:

Grasp your tongue with your fingers, then gently pull your tongue down, out.

Hands in the castle

Place a glass of water on the edge of the table. Place your hands behind your back, then clasp them in a lock. Try to straighten your arms, at the same time drink water, hooking your teeth.

When you straighten your arms, the diaphragm relaxes, and when you drink water, it compresses it. This is the mechanism of hiccups in patients.

Today we learned how to stop hiccups in adults, God forbid that nothing in your life is useful. Health and longevity to all.

Always looking forward to visiting the site.

Watch the video why people hiccup:

This phenomenon is very unpleasant, spontaneous and unpredictable. Surely, each of us has experienced hiccups, more than once. Among other things, it has an amazing feature, to arise at the most inopportune moment. Agree that during a meeting, report, business meeting or a serious conversation, hiccups are not entirely appropriate, or, more precisely, completely inappropriate. So that the next time it also suddenly arises, you can get rid of it quickly and painlessly, we suggest using certain methods.

What is hiccups

But first, let's figure out what hiccups are and what causes them. To do this, we will have to turn to the school anatomy course and remember the structure of the human body. Between the thoracic and abdominal cavities is a muscular tissue called the diaphragm. Thanks to the diaphragm, we inhale and exhale, providing our lungs with air. Inhalation occurs when the diaphragm is tense, and exhalation occurs when it relaxes. In addition, the diaphragm is in close proximity to the heart and digestive organs. Sometimes, as a result of irritation of the nerve endings located in the diaphragm, its contraction occurs. This causes a sharp breath through the glottis. But since inhalation is accompanied by a characteristic sound, during its pronunciation, the glottis closes, and you hold your breath.

Causes of hiccups

There can be many reasons for the onset of hiccups. The most common of these are overeating, which stretches the stomach, and eating in a hurry. Eating at a fast pace, you can not only harm your stomach, but also swallow excess air along with food or liquid, which later will cause sudden hiccups. Also, the diaphragm can be irritated as a result of a slowdown in the process of emptying the stomach, which negatively affects its condition and can lead to prolonged hiccups. So, if you do not want to be in an awkward situation, starting to hiccup at the most inopportune moment, take care of your diet and eat right and measured.

Hiccups can be caused not only by minor problems with the stomach, quite often the causes of its occurrence are quite serious diseases. Remember that the diaphragm tightly borders on the heart and lungs, and any deviations from the norm cannot but be reflected in it, and it, in turn, signals them in this way. Let's start with the lungs. Frequent and prolonged hiccups may indicate the onset of pneumonia or the development of lung cancer, which is not uncommon in heavy smokers.

The cause of hiccups can also be a hernia or inflammation in the esophagus or liver. Practice shows that with toxic poisoning, hiccups are considered a fairly common occurrence. However, despite all the factors listed above, no physician can say with certainty what actually causes hiccups. That is why there is still a theory that hiccups appear when someone often remembers us.

How to get rid of hiccups

If you still couldn’t avoid this annoying phenomenon, and hiccups caught you by surprise, try to get rid of it with existing and quite effective methods. For those who often suffer from hiccups and prefer treatment with pharmaceutical preparations, we can advise you to do an intramuscular injection of cerucal when a hiccup attack occurs. Motilium, atropine and scopolamine also do an excellent job with it. These drugs will relieve you of hiccups if it is associated with an upset digestive system. If these remedies do not help, and you need to get rid of hiccups as soon as possible, you can try pipolfen or haloperidol. They have an effect on the work of the central nervous system, removing irritation from the diaphragm and stopping spasms. But drugs are often not the best option for eliminating hiccups, folk methods are much more effective and safe.

Read more

As mentioned earlier, hiccups are caused by breathing difficulties and, therefore, in order to get rid of it, you need to restore this very breathing and return it to normal. There are several special exercises for this, one of which will surely suit you. Draw as much air into the lungs as possible and exhale it in small portions, briefly holding the breath before each subsequent exhalation. For the next method, you will need a paper bag. Grasp its edge with both hands and press firmly to your face. Then inhale and exhale as quickly and as intensely as possible, making several dozen breaths in this way. Do not allow outside air to enter the bag, otherwise the expected effect will not be. With accelerated breathing, you should experience maximum tension, which will ensure that the normal operation of the diaphragm resumes. Drink a glass of water in small sips without interruption. It also stabilizes the breathing process, since with each sip you inhale and exhale a certain amount of air in a specific rhythm.

If the problem lies in the disruption of the digestive system, then breathing exercises are unlikely to help you. In this case, it is better to eat something sweet, such as a spoonful of sugar or honey. But there is an opinion that not only sweet, but also sour helps to get rid of hiccups. That is why, try to eat a slice of lemon or drink water with lemon juice, if it is not possible for you to eat a lemon in its pure form.

Often, ice helps in the fight against hiccups. Drink some ice water, or just suck on a piece of ice, and after a few minutes the hiccups will stop. Some people prefer to put a heating pad filled with ice on the diaphragm area, which is also very effective. Many people claim that the following, fairly simple method helps them cope with hiccups. As soon as an attack of hiccups begins, slightly pull yourself by the tongue, taking it with your thumbs and forefingers. But here the main thing is not to overdo it and not injure yourself from a strong jerk.

Manual therapy and acupressure have long proven their effectiveness in the fight against certain diseases. Not without them and in the case of hiccups. If the hiccups have not gone away for a long time and all the methods listed above have not brought results, try massaging your eyes by closing them and relaxing. Do this with your index fingers in light circular motions. Then massage the stomach, periodically pressing on the intestinal area. You can also massage in the area of ​​​​the junction of the chest with the collarbone. Plug your ears with your fingers and press them on the auricle several times, while slightly scrolling. Sit down, curl up with your legs tightly pressed to your chest, and sit like this for a few minutes. Breathing calmly and measuredly, with each exhalation, squeeze the middle phalanx of the little finger, thus making a kind of acupressure.

Tickling is an unconventional method of getting rid of hiccups. It is believed that if you make a person suffering from this disease laugh, the hiccups will go away on their own. The essence of this method lies in the fact that during tickling it is necessary to keep laughter in every possible way, and, consequently, to hold your breath. This will help restore it and cure hiccups. Another, no less strange, but no less effective way is to scare the martyr. In such cases, the main thing is not to overdo it, because a strong fright can lead to undesirable consequences in the form of mental disorders and stuttering. Therefore, it is better to save this method as a last resort and use it only in emergency situations or when all the others have failed.

If hiccups haunt you constantly and do not stop within a few hours, and all the tried methods of dealing with it do not help, you need to seek help from a doctor who will find out the cause of the hiccups and prescribe the appropriate treatment. After all, hiccups are not always an ordinary nuisance, often it is she who is a symptom of a serious illness. And if you are worried about frequent hiccups, it is better to take action in a timely manner and avoid serious complications.

Hiccups is a violation of the function of external respiration, which occurs as a result of a series of convulsive contractions of the diaphragm, manifested by short intense spontaneous respiratory movements. Sharp jerky contractions of the diaphragm lead to a sudden change in the volume of the chest, the lungs fill the resulting volume, stretching and provoking a convulsive breath. The sudden movement of air in the mucous membrane of the larynx irritates the nerve endings and reflexively closes the glottis. Hiccups look like repetitive short and intense respiratory movements, reminiscent of convulsive sobs.

Hiccups are a very unpleasant phenomenon for a person, causing severe discomfort, unpredictable and spontaneous, can often occur at the most inopportune moment.

Hiccups episodic or short-term occurs suddenly, lasts 10-15 minutes and just as suddenly stops. Such a temporary inconvenience is not worth much attention.

Continuous hiccups occur every day for several weeks or longer, and can last for hours or even days.

Hiccups: causes

The causes of short-term hiccups can be called external, they can be caused by hunger or excessive overeating, thirst, eating dry food (buns, bread), alcohol abuse, sudden changes in temperature, strong excitement or stress.

Hiccups in newborns

Hiccups in newborns are a frequent phenomenon, due to the extreme excitability of the mechanisms that regulate the contractile function of the diaphragm in the first months of life. A newborn baby adapts to an independent life outside the mother's body, and all its systems and organs learn to work. The main causes of hiccups in newborns are as follows:

• Excessive distention of the stomach by air that has entered it during feeding;
• Excessive stretching of the stomach with food, as a result of overfeeding the child;
• hypothermia;
• Strong fear, anxiety, excitement;
• Improper nutrition of the mother if the child is breastfed.

Eliminating the causes of hiccups in newborns is not difficult. If the room is cold - wrap the baby, take him in your arms, warm him with your warmth. If hiccups start after or during feeding, carry your baby upright, head up, stroking his back or tummy. Excess air will come out of the stomach, and the hiccups will stop. Hiccups in newborns are a normal physiological process, as soon as the child grows up, hiccups will pass.

If hiccups in newborns are regular and prolonged, you should consult a doctor, as it may indicate that the baby has a serious illness.

hiccups in a child

Hiccups in a child happen quite often, as they grow older, hiccuping, they begin to experience discomfort and anxiety. Hiccups in a child can begin if he:

• Ate dry food (crackers, cookies, bagels) without drinking;
• Overate, and the stomach is not able to cope with such a volume of food;
• Just thirsty;
• Overcooled.

If a child's hiccups are rare and last no more than an hour, there is no cause for concern. In the case of regular prolonged hiccups, the child should be immediately shown to the doctor. One of the most common causes of hiccups in a child may be the presence of worms.

How to get rid of hiccups

The question of how to get rid of hiccups is so relevant that whoever finds the only correct answer to it is guaranteed universal recognition. Unfortunately, such a remedy for hiccups has not yet been invented. Ideally, hiccups should stop 5-15 minutes after they start, just as involuntarily. If this does not happen, and you want to immediately stop hiccuping, try using the following recommendations.

When hiccups are caused by breathing problems, it must be restored to normal to get rid of the hiccups. To do this, there are a number of special exercises, from which you need to choose the most suitable for you:

• Having taken the deepest breath possible, exhale the air in small portions, holding your breath for a short time before each exhalation;
• Take a paper bag, clasping the edges with your hands, press it tightly to your face, inhale and exhale as intensely and often as possible, preventing air from entering the bag;
• In small sips, without interruption, drink a glass of water.

How to get rid of hiccups caused by problems with the digestive system:

• Eat something sweet, such as a spoonful of honey or sugar;
• Eat something sour, such as a slice of lemon, or drink lemon juice diluted with water;
• Drink ice water or just suck on a piece of ice.

In a situation where none of the above remedies for hiccups helps if it is associated with a disorder in the digestive system, the following drugs are recommended: cerucal, atropine, motilium, scopolamine. Pipolfen or haloperidol relieve spasms and stop irritation of the diaphragm, restoring the normal functioning of the central nervous system. You can use drugs as a remedy for hiccups only on the recommendation of your doctor.

If hiccups do not stop within a few hours and happen several times during the day, it is necessary to find out the cause of its occurrence. To do this, you should contact a medical institution to undergo an examination and get expert advice. Often such hiccups are one of the symptoms of a serious illness.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

Pathological prolonged hiccups is a condition in which convulsive contractions of the diaphragm provoke a violation of respiratory function. It manifests itself in short delays in external breathing, perceived by a person as a short-term lack of air. Causing a feeling of discomfort, prolonged hiccups at the same time can signal the presence of a number of diseases in the body.

Pathological means hiccups that occur quite often (at least twice a day) for several days, or do not stop at all for two to three days, and sometimes longer. In medical practice, there are cases when hiccups lasted for months and even years. Such a condition should definitely alert and become a reason for a visit to the local doctor, who, based on the results of the initial survey, will refer the patient to a more narrowly focused specialist.

Prolonged pathological hiccups can sometimes be caused by irritation of the vagus nerve due to a sharp fright, severe hypothermia, bad eating habits (overeating, hasty absorption of food).

How to get rid of prolonged hiccups?

Unlike a short-term bout of hiccups, which usually ends on its own after a few minutes, the pathological version of this ailment often requires help. Depending on the severity of the condition, diagnosis, as well as the doctor's recommendations, both medications and folk remedies can be used for this purpose.

Folk remedies and methods

Folk methods of getting rid of protracted debilitating hiccups are not able to cope with the disease that caused it, but significantly alleviate the patient's condition. Time-honored recipes include:

• mustard plaster applied to the skin in the area of ​​the solar plexus;
• water at room temperature (drink slowly in small sips);
• cold water with vinegar (1 teaspoon of 9% vinegar or apple cider vinegar in a glass of water);
• lump sugar - it should be slowly absorbed until the hiccups completely stop, a few drops of corvalol or valocordin can be dropped on sugar;
• alcohol tincture of birch buds (infuse 15-20 g of buds in 0.5 l of alcohol or vodka, take 15 drops per 0.5 glass of water);
• oil tincture of oregano (a handful of dried grass per 0.5 l of olive or sunflower oil, leave for 8-10 hours, strain, take 2-3 drops three times a day);
• a mixture of mustard and vinegar (mix a small amount of ingredients in a teaspoon, lubricate the tip of the tongue; when the hiccups stop, wash off);
• dill water (1 teaspoon per cup of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes, take 3-4 tablespoons three times a day);
• resorption of lemon slices, sour caramel, candy;
• chewing and swallowing a piece of stale black bread;
• a spoonful of honey, washed down with warm water;
• a warm drink from chamomile, prepared according to the recipe indicated on the package;
• cold compress on the throat;
• a glass of soothing decoction (motherwort, mint, lemon balm, peony, valerian);
• periodic finger pressure on the supraclavicular fossa.

Important! Some of the listed folk remedies are not an allergen, but can cause individual intolerance to the body in the form of a rash, respiratory failure, etc.

In case of occurrence of undesirable symptoms, the drug should be stopped immediately and consult a doctor.

Treatment of hiccups with drugs

Since pathological hiccups are only a manifestation of some kind of ailment, then its treatment is aimed primarily at eliminating the underlying disease. At the same time, to relieve an unpleasant symptom, the doctor may prescribe special drugs that will help relieve spasm and contractions of the diaphragm. This is done if the patient has not been helped by more gentle folk methods.

Table. Medicinal ways to get rid of pathological hiccups

For the treatment of pathological hiccups, the doctor can use either one of the listed drugs, or a combination of several of them. So, for hiccups caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, a duet of cisapride and omeprazole is often used - together these drugs effectively promote the digestion of food in the stomach and its further movement into the intestines, normalize acidity, neutralize nerve impulses.

If the pathology cannot be eliminated, the patient is recommended such radical methods of influence as blockade or excision of the phrenic nerve.

Breathing exercises as a means of getting rid of hiccups

Since hiccups are primarily a respiratory disorder, breathing exercises can be used to neutralize it. Their action is aimed at relaxing the diaphragm and relieving spasm.

To get rid of an unpleasant and exhausting symptom, it is recommended to perform the following exercises:

1. Alternating deep breath and holding the breath: in the interval between spasm: you should inhale as deeply as possible, then close your eyes and slowly count to ten.
2. Exercise with a paper bag: it must be applied to the face so that it completely covers the nose, mouth and chin, and take intense breaths and exhalations.
3. Helps with an attack to breathe deeply, leaning forward. At the same time, the hands should be clasped in a “lock” behind the back.
4. Uniform breathing, accompanied by gentle pressure with both hands on the diaphragm.
5. Stretching up and down in a sitting position. When moving your arms up, you should inhale, when tilting down, exhale.
6. Deep breathing with head hanging off the couch. To do this, you will have to lie on your stomach so that your head is over the edge of the sofa or bed. Lowering your head down, make uniform breathing movements.
7. Exhalation, accompanied by squeezing the middle phalanx of both little fingers. The exhalation should be slow (at least 5 seconds).
8. Swinging the press with exhalation on the rise of the body.

Attention! Breathing exercises for hiccups should not cause dizziness, darkening of the eyes, redness of the skin in the face and neck, a feeling of lack of oxygen.

If any discomfort appears, it should be stopped and breathing should be restored with calm, deep breaths and exhalations.

Causes of prolonged hiccups in a child

The immaturity of the nervous system is the main reason that hiccups in children, on average, occur more often than adults and last longer. In the case of babies, this symptom is far from always a sign of pathology. Most likely, the causes of prolonged hiccups in a child are easily fixable problems.

Possible reasons:

• hypothermia;
• prolonged laughter;
• fright;
• overexcitation of the nervous system due to active games, watching cartoons, films;
• binge eating;
• mild dehydration (thirst);
• dry food;
• uncomfortable posture.

If prolonged hiccups in a child occur too often and are difficult to eliminate, this is a reason to suspect the presence of more serious ailments. First of all - helminthic intoxication. In this case, the general anxiety of the baby, grinding of teeth in a dream, frequent scratching of the anus, and indigestion may join the symptoms.

In a very active child, hiccups may indicate an injury - perhaps the baby hit the chest and damaged the phrenic nerve. Also, this symptom is characteristic of sluggish pneumonia.

In rare cases, hiccups in a child may indicate the presence of nervous diseases.

What to do if the child hiccups all day?

The first thing parents should do when they notice a hiccup in a child is to check if he is overcooled. If the baby has cold hands and / or feet, he should be dressed warmly, given a warm drink, covered with a blanket. It is important to ensure that the child is not overexcited, limit the viewing of emotional cartoons, TV shows, at the first sign of excitement, gently divert his attention to other activities.

Important! If the listed first aid methods do not help or help for a short time, the child must be shown to the pediatrician for examination and treatment.

It is necessary to observe the water-drinking regimen, during the meal it is necessary to ensure that the child is not in a hurry, carefully chewing each piece. From time to time, the baby needs to be offered drinks - water, compote, herbal teas. They not only saturate the body with moisture and vitamins, but also calm the nervous system.

Why does the baby hiccup and how to help him?

Hiccups often occur in children under one year old. If the baby has passed all the planned examinations by a neurologist and no pathologies of the central nervous system have been identified, then the cause may be malnutrition. With natural feeding, this is improper attachment to the breast or weak nipples in the mother, which causes milk to flow out too quickly. In this case, it is recommended to invite a lactation consultant who will help the woman learn how to properly attach the baby to the breast, as well as master feeding on her back, which will reduce the amount of milk flowing out.

With artificial feeding, the cause is often too large a hole in the nipple of the bottle - the child does not have time to swallow the mixture and chokes on it, as a result of which he has hiccups. Eliminating the cause is easy - you just need to buy a high-quality anatomical feeding bottle.

The baby should be dressed in accordance with the air temperature indoors and outdoors - the baby should neither overheat nor overcool. Also, prolonged crying should not be allowed - this negatively affects the child's nervous system and can also cause hiccups.

As a first aid, a light massage with warm hands will help the baby - for this you need to undress him and lay him on his arm with his chest, slightly tilting his head forward. After that, gently massage the back in a clockwise direction.

Examination and possible consequences

If hiccups do not go away for a long time or occur too often, it is recommended to contact a therapist who will write a referral for tests to exclude or confirm infection of the patient with worm eggs. After listening to the accompanying complaints, he will also give a recommendation to visit a gastroenterologist, endocrinologist or neurologist.

Pathological hiccups cannot be ignored - often it can become the first external sign of such serious diseases as a brain tumor, cancer of the esophagus, a precancerous condition of the stomach, diabetes mellitus, and various neurological disorders. Their timely detection will save not only the health, but also the life of the patient.

Prevention

Preventive methods for the appearance of pathological hiccups are reduced to regular examinations by specialized specialists - gastroenterological and neurological examinations for an adult should be done at least once every two years, for a child - once a year. To exclude the possibility of diabetes once a year, it is necessary to donate blood for glucose levels.

Prevention of prolonged hiccups also lies in the rejection of frequent and immoderate drinking, overeating.