The old medicine doesn't work? Here are eight effective ways to stop hiccups

Whether it's because of stress, excitement or something we ate – we all suffer from the annoying phenomenon called hiccups . Hiccups are repetitive, uncontrolled, explosive oscillations of the diaphragm muscle. The result of these involuntary oscillations is the blocking and opening of the voice box in a rapid and unnatural way, which causes a sudden and rapid burst of sound from the trachea and larynx. This causes a noise and a momentary pause in normal speech and a kind of 'jumping' of the upper body, which usually causes discomfort to those suffering from the symptom.

Just two minutes a day of the following will reduce the chance of getting the serious illness
Not just a candy: the lollipop that will tell if you've been infected

What can cause hiccups? Eating and drinking too fast, sipping fizzy drinks, overeating, heartburn, stress, sudden changes in air temperature, excessive stretching of the neck, alcohol and certain drugs such as anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines).

The antidote to hiccups is panic or intimidation, that is – if someone startles or scares you, out of panic and fear you will stop hiccups. But there are some other ways, according to the "Medical Daily", that have been proven to help get rid of the annoying medical phenomenon.

Cover your mouth: try to place your hands over your nose and mouth and continue breathing normally. This way you give yourself an extra dose of carbon monoxide, which can help stop the hiccups.

Eat something sweet: Eating a teaspoon of sugar sounds like the kind of thing Mary Poppins would advise you to do, but according to a study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine", the portion of sugar may stimulate the cranial nerve that is responsible for digestion, heart rate, breathing and actions reflex, and the stimulation can actually interfere with the hiccup reflex, causing the diaphragm to stop the attacks.

Seal the ears: Try to cover the ears for 20-25 seconds or fold the earlobes to cover them.

Stick out your tongue: Sticking out your tongue can help you breathe more smoothly to calm hiccups. At the prestigious Harvard Medical School, they even recommend gently biting your tongue.

Breathe into a paper bag: If you have a small paper bag handy, try breathing into it slowly. This will increase the carbon dioxide in your blood, which will cause your diaphragm to contract more to get more oxygen.

Drink water: try to sip 10 sips of water one after the other, without a break. A quick sip will encourage rhythmic contractions of the esophagus, which will bypass the spasms of the diaphragm and stop the hiccups.

A glass of water (Photo: Ingimage)

Suck on a lemon: sucking on a lemon wedge will interfere with the hiccup reflex and stop it.

Rub the neck: Stimulating the skin covering the spinal nerves near the neck by tapping or rubbing the back of the neck will help relieve the hiccups.