Hiccups Annoying You? Here’s How To Stop Them

GlassSuffering from a bad case of the hiccups? They don’t do any physical damage and are more annoying than anything (though I suppose if you have a chronic case, that may be cause for concern).

Sure enough, it never fails that they appear at the most inopportune times (when you’re trying to sleep, right before a job interview, during class, etc.).

The good news is that there are plenty of different home remedies you can try that can stop them in their tracks.

Here’s a tip from Growing Happiness with “The Best Cure”, there’s a twist to this you may not know:

I’ve also tried many other methods like holding my breath, pulling my ears, pinching my nose, drinking honey and getting tickled (made me feel worse). That was until B told me that the cure does indeed lie in drinking water but not just any water, it has to be warm.

Aha! Warm temperature is the trick…visit the page for details why it works. I was taught to hold my breath and it had inconsistent results. Thankfully, I rarely get hiccups…maybe I’m getting too old for them ;).

Update: Tipnut readers have a lot good tips too and many were shared in the comments area below. Here are several more ideas you can try:

  • First take a deep breath then keep drinking tiny sips until you can no longer hold your breath. (From Carole)
  • Let a spoonful of sugar dissolve on your tongue then swallow. (From Melody)
  • Talking on the phone will fix them. (From Janet)
  • Trying to do them on purpose, or forcing one, brings them to a stop. (From Geraldine)
  • Stimulating the nerves of the throat helps, try massaging your earlobes. (From Earl)
  • Drinking upside down helps. (From Kim & Katlyn)
  • Take a deep breath, hold it then bend over sharply. Keep holding your breath until you no longer can then let it out and take another deep breath. (From Alice)
  • Eat a spoonful of peanut butter, allowing it to sit in your mouth a few seconds before swallowing. (From Judy)
  • A teaspoon of vinegar can help. (From Ruth)
  • Try drinking a half glass, tilt your head up with your mouth open and hold your breath for 10 seconds. (From Charles)
  • Take a drink, hold it in your mouth then plug your ears and swallow. (From Roxann)
  • Drink water continuously, swallowing once your mouth is full. (From Anandraj)
  • Creme de menthe or any strong liquor or brandy will work (a couple sips will stop them instantly). (From Ronna)
  • Use both thumbs to apply pressure on the forehead just above the nose. (From Jo)

Did we miss your tried and true fix, a cure-all remedy for stopping hiccups cold? Please share it with everyone by adding it in the comments area below, thank you! 🙂

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Comments

    • Carole
    Reply

    We always drink water AND hold our breath. Sometimes, one alone is enough, but both together works every time. (Take a deep breath, then take lots of tiny sips of the water, as many as you can before running out of air; it never fails us.)

    : )

    • Melody
    Reply

    Growing up, my mother always gave us a spoonful of sugar when we had hiccups that wouldn’t go away. (Mary Poppins references come to mind) You let the sugar dissolve on your tongue before swallowing it, and I’ve never had it fail me.

    • janet
    Reply

    I have gotten hiccups frequently my whole life. They’re usually extremely strong and no matter how tightly I clench my teeth, they usually blast my mouth open. I’ve tried everything – water, paper bags, people scaring me, deep breathing while doing a head stand, etc. For the past couple years the only thing that has worked is if someone calls and I start talking on the phone, or if I phone someone. It must have something to do with breathing differently. However, one time it didn’t work and my husband [at work] put me on the speaker phone!

    • Geraldine
    Reply

    When I was a kid, riding in the old station wagon with my three siblings and parents, I would sometimes get the hiccups which would be so entertaining to the kids and annoying to the folks. To keep the kids giggling, I would TRY to hiccup and the minute I would try to hiccup (for more laughs), I would just stop. Now if someone has the hiccups, I just tell them to try to hiccup and they stop. Really.

      • joe
      Reply

      You are a savior. You may have solved the mystery of a lifetime. As soon as i tried to hiccup on purpose and began to concentrate, they stopped immediately. You have to spread the word. The world must know. You don’t know how much I appreciate that tip. God bless you.

    • Katlyn
    Reply

    I think this is great. But what I try is I take a gulp of water, go into a headstand and hold my breath while drinking upside-down. This is great for someone whos a gymnast like me, but the tip here is obviously a lot better.

    • Earl
    Reply

    The goal is to stimulate nerves of the throat. That is why drinking water or eating sugar works sometimes. Try massaging earlobes, as the nerves supplying sensation there are related to those of the throat.

    • Evie
    Reply

    Holding your breath while drinking water has always worked for me when I have really bad hiccups. How do I know when I’ve had enough water? I either can’t hold my breath any longer or I’ve chugged down seven big gulps… whichever comes first.

    There’s an old Cuban wives tale for babies with hiccups. Put blob of wet thread on the baby’s forehead and the hiccups go away. I’ve had a fifty percent success rate with that one… but then babies usually stop without intervention.

      • Kira
      Reply

      This is what I do, drown them out. I grab a nice, big glass of whatever drink is handy (so long as it’s anywhere from cold to room temp. warm drinks don’t seem to register for me very well), then gulp at least half the sucker down, but they have to be big full gulps that fill the mouth.

      I’ve had pretty consistent results with this method over the past several years. I can only count a handful of times that it hasn’t worked since I started using it. One of those times being when I discovered that warmer drinks were a no-go, and grabbing a fresh glass of cold water fixed that right up.

    • Kim
    Reply

    The only thing that has ever worked for me is drinking water upside down. Meaning, put your mouth on the wrong side of the glass and lean forward and drink. Sometimes I have to do it two or three times, but it always works.

    • Alice
    Reply

    This was taught to me by a six-year-old, and has never failed me, or anyone else I’ve ever shown.
    Take a deep breath and bend over sharply, while continuing to hold your breath. Hold it as long as you can, let it out, and take another deep breath. By the time you let that one out, the hiccups are gone. The only drawback is that when attempted in public, people nearby tend to think that you’re about to faint or throw-up!

      • sam
      Reply

      i was having hiccups for over 3 hours.. I drank warm water and i tried bending over and touching my toes and holding my breath for about 2 mins + then i let my breath out, and behold, the hiccups stopped.

      • Jamie
      Reply

      Thank you @Miss. Alice!! I maybe get hiccups 3/yr! They are so painful & I have tried everything but your tip! I took a deep breath right after I hiccupped & bent over sharply, held til I couldnt anymore, breathe out & repeated 2x for good measure! Now I can enjoy my evening! Thank you!!

    • Judy
    Reply

    I use a hiccup cure that someone gave me several years ago. Just get a teaspoon and dig it into the peanut better jar. Now eat it off the spoon and let it linger in your mouth a few seconds then swallow. Works for me.

      • Sherry
      Reply

      My familly has been using peanut butter to cure hiccups for years. It never fails! Plus, it’s yummy.

    • Ruth
    Reply

    A teaspoon of vinegar works every time!

      • Tony
      Reply

      Ruth, thank you. I have tried everything from holding my breath, eating sugar, cold water, warm water, blah, blah, blah… the vinegar wasn’t the best tasting but it stopped my hiccups immediately. So, finally after an hour of having them, I can go back to bed… at 4AM. Thank you.

    • Gus Shaver
    Reply

    I can’t cure my own hiccups but I have had great success for 30 years “buying” other people’s hiccups. I offer them a quarter or something and remind them that, if they agree to sell their hiccups to me, they can’t take them back. Usually, by the time I place the coin in their hand, the hiccups have gone. It even works when I take the coin back a minute later. I’ve had it fail once in 30 years.

    • Bart
    Reply

    OMJ Why did no one suggest peanut butter? 1 TSP of peanut butter works EVERY time. Eat the whole TSP at once.

    • Peggy
    Reply

    Peanut butter is the best remedy for hiccups. My husband and I both have them and it does work for us. Just take a teaspoon of peanut butter and eat it and it will help. I have also heard sugar or candy with sugar does the trick as well.

    • Coco
    Reply

    I must say that the warm water bit works like a charm! My best friend, K complained that he was having hiccups that just wouldn’t go away. He even added that the constant hiccups were causing his chest to hurt. Initially, I was making fun of him and thought of suggesting the warm water but I didn’t. I then decided to check for some home remedies via Google. Eureka! I found the warm water solution. I was so amazed, so I quickly told him about it. Believe it or not, he said that his hiccups had completely gone – within seconds – after drinking the warm water. Once again, water has proven to be a life-saver. Thank you TipNut!!!

    • Larisa
    Reply

    When my family gets hiccups we get a glass of water and put a napkin over it and drink all of the water in the cup through the napkin. It works everytime for us

    • Ray
    Reply

    Amazing,warm water actually worked. I was suffering from hiccups, tried holding my breath and drinking sips of water, the usual, but never worked, i then googled and found this article, after taking a few sips of warm water, i was gone. Im still amazed. I want hiccups again so that i can try this one more time, thanks 🙂

    • Michael
    Reply

    Peanut butter works awesome! A teaspoon of peanut butter and bye bye hiccups.

    • Donna
    Reply

    i find that it just requires concentration, hence all the eating, drinking or breath holding. if you take a mouthful of water and hold it in your mouth and hold your breath, it forces you to concentrate and hiccups are gone!!

    • Charles
    Reply

    Drink a half glass of water, then tilt the head up towards the ceiling (or towards the sky… if you’re outside) with your mouth open and stop breathing for about 10 seconds (with your mouth still open). This definitely works and will get rid of your hiccups (trust me, I’ve been using this technique since I was a child and it works everytime).

      • Dana
      Reply

      That’s (almost) exactly what I do! I’ve been doing it for years! I take a big gulp of water (and don’t swallow it) then I tilt my head back, take a deep breath (with the water still in your mouth) and swallow it all at the same time.

    • Kari
    Reply

    The best thing I have found is to ask the hiccup-ee what they had for dinner the night before, then the previous night, etc. Not sure why it works, but if you are somewhere where there is no water, peanut butter etc. to be found (think road trip)it is worth a try! Best thing is it’s free! 🙂

    • Roxann
    Reply

    what you need to do is take a drink but don’t swallow until you plug both ears then swallow it works everytime! My mother in-law told me this several years ago God rest her soul! Never fails!

    • Alicia
    Reply

    I have used the peanut butter remedy for years. Just swallow one spoonful. Instant success, and it works every single time (I’m very prone to hiccups). I’ve tried all the other remedies: dry sugar (has never worked, only made me cough… coughing and hiccuping at the same time is no fun), water (and drinking it upside down, which works but only about half the time), holding my breath (never worked, even when drinking water at the same time)… only peanut butter works 100% of the time. I think it has something to do with the way it coats your throat and the roof of your mouth so completely as you try to swallow it. It totally throws your vagus nerve for a loop. I’ve used it on kids too (as long as they’re old enough, not a good idea for babies) and it really does work every time! I’ve heard honey works the same way but have never tried it (never needed too, since I always buy PB anyway and rarely have honey around).

    • mandy
    Reply

    The secret to stopping hiccups is stretching your diaphragm to convince it to stop contracting. Any cure that “works” just allows you time to relax or stretch.

    • Saranina
    Reply

    I tried holding my breath for as long as I can, then I drank some water, did a backbend and had some candy. Almost instantly my hiccups were gone! Please please please please please try this because it SO works.
    PS. Instead of having candy you can have sugar, but there is no difference.

    • therater
    Reply

    Actually, it can be much simpler. Saying the word “Watermelon” right when you get the hiccups can make the hiccups go away very close to instantly. It works 95 percent of the time.

    Just what i do though.

      • hiccupsufferer
      Reply

      just tried it. IT WORKS!

    • debby
    Reply

    My husband has had the hiccups for over a day now. He has tried holding his breath, drinking water, sugar, pressing on his diaphram…all to no avail. He has actually thrown up twice because of them. When he awakes, I’m going to have him try warm water or the peanut butter. For me, when I’ve had them, I just ignore ’em.

    • Louise Horowitz
    Reply

    Put a napkin or paper towel over a glass of water. Suck the water through the paper towel. When that spot is saturated, turn the glass for a drier spot, until the entire napkin is wet. If the hiccups are not gone by then, repeat with a dry paper towel or napkin. Works every time!!

    • Amy
    Reply

    The thing that always works for me and my family is a small gulp of dill pickle juice takes them away instantly every time, and it tastes a little better than just plain vinegar. I had chronic hiccups when I was a kid, until I tried this and it worked great!!!

    • Brenda Iddon
    Reply

    get the person with the hiccups to sit up straight on a dining room chair.gt them to put their arms straight up in the air then give them three quick sips of water.this cure never fails.

    • Rosa
    Reply

    I give my kids a taste of baking soda on their tonge and then let them swallow it. It works so well that when my son has the hiccups he asks for the hiccup medicine. 😀

    • Karen
    Reply

    I have always given my children a teaspoon of lemon juice…they actually used to ask for “hiccup medicine” when they had the hiccups. It really works…try it.

    • masimons
    Reply

    After more than 90min of hiccups, I looked this up, trying the holding breath didn’t work, nor along with sipping water. But doing it warm was the trick.
    Thanks.

    • jimmy
    Reply

    make them scared or make them run around

    • Debe
    Reply

    Bitters on a lemon slice works too.

    • Annette
    Reply

    the lemon juice remedy really works, our family has used it for years.

    • Susan
    Reply

    2 teaspoons of sugar in an 8-12 ounce glass of water and drink it all without stopping. I have used this for years and it works every single time.

    • Misha
    Reply

    my english granny always gave us warm water with a teaspoon of sugar in it.

    my afrikaans taught us this rhyme:
    Hic en ek gaan oor die see, hic bly daar en ek kom terug (hic and i go over the sea, hic stays there and i come back)
    You have to say the rhyme as many times as you can in one breath. i think it works due to breathing control.

    both work but the afrikaans one takes a little longer.

    • tabitha
    Reply

    i work at mcdonalds and use to get them for 8 hours straight i was once handed a cup with a lil bit of pickle juice in it i said your crazy but because of the vinegar in the pickle juice it works great! now as soon as i get them at work i get handed a cup of pickle juice!

    • deedacia
    Reply

    Use a straw to drink water while you plug your ears. Works every time. I’ve been doing it since I was 7 and now I’m 25.

    • shirley
    Reply

    My Mom would hear I had the hiccups and say “Shirley do you have the hiccups?!!” I’d look at her and say “yes” She would say “prove it, let me hear you” and I’d look shocked and wait for the hiccup but it never came….(I’m going to try Tabithas pickle juice idea.)

      • Anandraj Kesavan
      Reply

      But I don’t think this will help you everytime.

    • Jamie
    Reply

    Take a 8 ounce glass of water and place a teaspoon in the glass. Begin drinking the water with the teaspoon handle resting on the side of your face while you drink. Drink all of the water in the glass. Your hiccups will be gone! This has been proven time and time again with my family and friends. They are amazed how it works 🙂

    • Krisppie
    Reply

    The peanut butter does work! After eating it, I tried it with Nutella. Maybe anything sticky and gooey would work. I tried the suggestion that says to put sugar on your tongue, but it didn’t work. How much sugar is needed?

    • Anandraj Kesavan
    Reply

    A minute before I had hiccups. So I searched in google and landed up here. I tried eating sugar, holding breath nothing works out. So I drank water continuously, whenever it fills my mouth I swallowed it Which helped me immediately. So Now I’m free and typing this comment. Thanks to tipnut.com

    • Nikola
    Reply

    Try getting scared!

    • Ronna
    Reply

    My mother always had a bottle of creme de menthe on hand for hiccups. Just a couple of sips will stop them instantly. I have found that any strong liquor or brandy will work. I don’t know why, but it never fails.

    • Ahmed
    Reply

    the tips #7 worked for me… taking a deep breath and then bending over sharply, holding my breath for as long as i could. then taking another deep breath worked. thanks so much..i had it for 10 mins before finding this tip..

    • Anna Sukhera
    Reply

    Well when I had the hiccups my cousin told me to say peoples names that you know and when the hiccups stop then that means that the last person that you said misses you and is thinking about you right at this very moment so is it true or not? Because I said my ex-boyfriends name and my hiccups stopped suddenly… ._.

    • Jo
    Reply

    I’ve tried most n it doesn’t work, I watched a medical show n they did everything possible god this girl n nothing worked. They ended up putting 2 thumbs on forehead just above the nose, apply pressure n hiccups went, I tried it in me one day n it worked

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