Digging into: hiccups
Everyone has experienced a hiccup. Those painful, little suckers that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.
Have you ever wondered what they are, what causes them or why we get them?
Let’s get digging.
There is a muscle in your body that you cannot physically see called a diaphragm (purple arch).
Note: My illustrations in this blog are oversimplified, but I am hoping this helps with the understanding of this process and where parts of the body are located.
It’s a long, curved muscle that sits right below your rib cage or under your lungs. The diaphragm’s role is to help you breathe. When you breathe in, your diaphragm contracts or flattens. When you breathe out, your diaphragm relaxes and returns back to its natural, curved shape. Like your arms and legs, this muscle is under your control, and that is why you can control your breathing rate.
So, what does the diaphragm have to do with hiccups?
A hiccup is the diaphragm’s version of a charley-horse. A hiccup is a contraction of the diaphragm that is out of your control.
But, why do we make a super loud sound when we hiccup?
To describe the sound produced from a hiccup, I need to bring up the epiglottis (EPI-GLOT-IS) and the glottis. Your glottis is a part of your larynx (LAIR-INKS) or your wind pipe. Your larynx is the upper part of your trachea (TRAY-KEY-UH) and is a tube that goes from your throat and heads towards your lungs. Your epiglottis is a flap that covers your glottis and prevents food from getting into your lungs. Your epiglottis will stay open while you are breathing but will shut when you drink, eat, swallow, etc.
Ever heard ‘my food went down the wrong pipe’? Well, that’s why! Your epiglottis is your main barrier between your two ‘pipes’, the trachea and esophagus.
So, when your diaphragm contracts in a hiccup, your larynx (pink box) also contracts and your epiglottis (orange flap) quickly shuts, which is why you hear the abrupt, loud sound of a hiccup.
Think of your epiglottis like a toilet seat. It stays open for most of the time but can easily be closed as needed. But, if you go to close the lid and it slips out of your hand, the loud smack of the seat is exactly what happens with the sound of a hiccup. I’m imaging you don’t have a fancy slow-closing toilet seat, but if you do, bare with me.
I like to structure my blogs to have an insightful or hopeful sort of ending. But, when it comes to hiccups, we are lost!
To this day, they are quite illusive to the medical community. There are no techniques that work perfectly to rid you of these annoying suckers. But, I would suggest trying the usual suggestions: drinking a cup of water quickly, holding your breath while swallowing 3 times, etc. Honestly though, I would try to laugh through them. Maybe it’s a sign you needed a smile in that moment so take the moment with a grain of salt and enjoy the laugh.
Annoying? Maybe. Worthless? Most likely. But, hey, appreciate the small things.
As always, reach out with questions!
Stay humble,
Emily
