What Are Treatments for Hiccups?

Discussion Hiccups affect nearly everyone at sometime in their life but continue to be poorly understood and are usually considered a nuisance. The medical term for hiccups is singultus which comes from the Latin meaning “to be caught in the act of sobbing.” Hiccups are caused by a diaphragmatic spasm that causes a sudden inhalation that is interrupted by the spasmodic closure of the glottis that produces the characteristic hiccup sound. The ‘hic’ in hiccup occurs 4-60 times/minute and in adults has no physiological purpose, but in fetuses may help train inspiratory muscles for respiration after delivery. A retrospective study of consecutive patients in a community hospital found 55 of 100,000 patients had hiccups. Of those, only 2 were under age 18, so it appears that although hiccups occur in the pediatric population, they are not often brought to the attention of medical personnel. Hiccups are classified based on their duration. Acute hiccups last less than 48 hours, persistent hiccups last more than two days and intractable hiccups last more than one month. Hiccups that last more than 48 hours are more likely to be associated with an organic or anatomic problem. Hiccups are caused by a reflex arc. The afferent component is from the vagus nerve, phrenic nerve and sympathetic nerves of the thoracic outflow tract. The central nerves are in the upper spinal cord, medulla near the respiratory center, hypothalamus and reticular formation. These are...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news