Everyone knows that little discomfort that arrives without warning: a strange sound, a little jump, and it's off for a sometimes endless series of "hiccups". Hiccups can make you smile, but they raise a real question: why does our body start functioning this way?
Hiccups originate from a sudden, involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the lungs from the abdomen and plays an essential role in breathing. When this muscle contracts abruptly, air is sucked in suddenly. The vocal cords then close very quickly, producing the famous "hic" sound.
But what triggers this reaction? Very often, it's small imbalances in the digestive system. Swallowing too quickly, drinking a carbonated beverage, laughing while eating, or even a sudden temperature change in the stomach can cause hiccups. The phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm, becomes unexpectedly stimulated and triggers these contractions. In most cases, hiccups are therefore benign and temporary.
How to stop them? There are many "grandmother's remedies" to get rid of hiccups: drinking water in small sips, holding your breath, being startled, swallowing a spoonful of sugar... Most haven't been scientifically proven, but they're based on the same idea: disrupting the breathing rhythm or stimulating the nerve responsible for the diaphragm to "break" the hiccup cycle.
Staying calm is often the best option, as hiccups disappear spontaneously after a few minutes. However, in rare cases where they last several hours, they can be a sign of a more serious medical problem and then warrant a consultation.
In reality, hiccups remain a partly unsolved mystery. Some researchers think they might be a vestige of our evolution, inherited from ancient breathing mechanisms in aquatic animals. Others see them simply as a useless reflex that persists because it's not harmful. Whatever the case, even if hiccups are annoying, they're rarely dangerous... and often amusing for those who hear us!