Scholars of the Org

[Dicky Ticker]

What causes hic-ups?

[metalangel]

It's air bouncing off a diaphragm in your throat or something, that's closed itself incorrectly.

That's what I think it is anyway, I could just Wikipedia, but so could you.

[JamesMio]

What causes hic-ups?

Sudden shocks, eating too quickly etc...

Or were you looking for a slightly more technical explanation? :D

[Dicky Ticker]

Well I haven't had a sudden shock or eaten anything yet but I have them.With regard to the diaphragm answer why,what causes it.
I can't find a medically sound answer.

[454697819]

the position of the moon in relation to Uranus

[phi-dan]

Too much flooping (http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Flooping)
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061118042009/muppet/images/thumb/3/36/222.jpg/300px-222.jpg

[dizzyblonde]

too many tootie frooties ;)

[daveyrach]

Hic-cups are caused by your diaphragm spasm-ing same as any other muscle spasm just it happens to be inside and makes your lungs do funny things.

[metalangel]

hiccups occur when your diaphragm (the thin layer of muscle that separates your chest cavity from your abdomen) suddenly and involuntarily contracts (tightens).
As your diaphragm contracts, it causes you to breathe in air very quickly. The incoming air is stopped when your glottis (the opening between your vocal cords) closes suddenly, producing the characteristic sound of a hiccup.
short-term hiccups

most cases of hiccups occur for no apparent reason. Everyone experiences a short bout of hiccups from time to time. This is perfectly normal and nothing to be concerned about.

The most common causes of short-term hiccups are:

consuming large amounts of alcohol
excessive smoking
a bloated stomach – usually as a result of eating or drinking too quickly
a sudden change in room temperature
a sudden change in the temperature inside your stomach
sometimes, short-term hiccups may also occur as a result of:

shock
stress (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress/pages/introduction.aspx) – the feeling of being under pressure
excitement

[Fruity-ya-ya]

too many tootie frooties ;)
Hmmmmmmm.

I get hiccups from eating McDonalds (not had one for a while, honest) but when I wolf a burger & then sip a fizzy drink, I hiccup (pretty much every time).
I think it's something to do with trapped air.

As an aside, my 4 year old calls them 'pick ups' and often exclaims 'Daddy, I've got pick-ups' then tries to convince me he has hiccups by quickly saying 'pick-up' repeatedly.

[metalangel]

I spent half of my time in grade school languishing in portables (portable classrooms on the school property but not part of the main building). Kids could be gone for up to ten minutes to use the bathroom or get a drink of water because of the distance involved (especially in winter when you had to put your boots on) so one teacher would only let you go for a drink if you had hiccups. And, to ensure you didn't just lie you had hiccups in order to be allowed to go, she'd announce to the classroom that you had hiccups. Everyone would stop and look. If you were still able to hiccup, you could go.

Nobody ever went.

[LankyIanB]

There's something to do with the actual cause being confused nerve signals. One of the reasonings behind this is that hiccups are very common with stroke patients, for some reason the brain damage caused by the stroke often triggers a short bout of hiccups in the patient a few minutes after eating.

My Mother-in-Law had a stroke in January and has only just left hospital (we've been really lucky and she's doing very well) however, she has short bouts of hiccups a few times a day usually after she has eaten. Speaking to other patients on the ward, quite a few had similar experiences.

[dizzyblonde]

or for this poor chap,
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/2803984/I-had-hiccups-for-three-years-but-it-saved-my-life.html

Thankfully I believe he is now cured :)

[Jimmy2Feet]

I have a cure for hicups, but will be hard to do over text!!

Basicily as it is your diaphram going dolally! like any other muscle that is in cramp stretch it out, take a breath and hold it, and keep taking in more breath again and again and again, dont breath out, then hold it for as long as you can, then slowley........must be slowley breath out, always works for me, and other people i get to do it!

[Daimo]

Way to fix hiccups? I've tried for years with many different things. One thing consistantly works...

Put fingers in ears. Press fingers in to seal ears.
Exhale, all of it.. Hold of a few seconds.

Release and breath. Works every time. I thought the women telling me was mad, but she was right. Something to do with equalling the pressure.

Soudns stupid, and im a non believer, but I tried it, once, twice, 3 times, even moreso... Its worked every single time.

I tried Jimmys way many many times, it never worked.

Also, the other thing that works, being made to jump. Not as in jumping in the air, as in someoen creaping up on you and going BOO and making you actually jump.

Breath out, breath in, water, drinking wrong side of glass etc all fail.

[wyrdness]

I have a cure for hicups, but will be hard to do over text!!

Basicily as it is your diaphram going dolally! like any other muscle that is in cramp stretch it out, take a breath and hold it, and keep taking in more breath again and again and again, dont breath out, then hold it for as long as you can, then slowley........must be slowley breath out, always works for me, and other people i get to do it!

That pretty much always works for me too.

[Jimmy2Feet]

The key IMO is to keep breathing in, dont stop, once it hurst that means you need to breath in more!!!!!!

Pain is the aim of the game, however i will be trying Daimo's trick next time, if that works would be much easier than my painfull half suffication way!!!

[-Ralph-]

As an aside, my 4 year old calls them 'pick ups'

<<<<<<<<<<< That one. "Hickitypups"!

[The Idle Biker]

When I was about 10, my old Nan told me to stick me finger up me bum to stop hiccups. She was from Kilkenny and I think it's an old traditional "cure all" where she came from. :smt018

[Mr Speirs]

Too much anal sex causes hiccups.

An instant cure is to stop having anal sex.
HTH