Wednesday, May 12, 2021

hiccups

Why, Lord?

For most of yesterday and some of this morning, I've been afflicted with hiccups.  What made the past 36 hours any different from any other time?  Dunno, but I had to work while hiccupping yesterday.  My American coworker started laughing at one point, and while I didn't like being laughed at, I could understand why someone might find the situation funny.  I left work early and went home, where I had several more hiccup attacks.  Right now, everything's fine, but life offers no guarantees.  We'll see whether this is just a passing phase or my new normal.  If I can get through today without hiccupping, that'll be nice.  I did notice that some attacks seemed to be associated with eating and drinking, so maybe I've finally found a diet that works. 

UPDATE:  have hiccupped a bit at work today as well, but I've discovered that the breathe-into-a-paper-bag method works the best of all the methods for me for stopping them.  Things that trigger the current bout of hiccups:  (a) nothing, (b) fizzy drinks, (c) swallowing (esp. swallowing fast).  It doesn't matter.  I'm adapting to this weird new reality.  Will be curious to see how long this lasts.  It's certainly a first.  



4 comments:

Charles said...

Everyone's got their hiccup remedies, right?

I've heard some people say that a cold spoon against the forehead works, but that sounds crazy. Me, I just take a deep breath and hold it until the hiccups go away or I pass out.

Good luck beating them bastards.

Kevin Kim said...

Normally, I'm a breath-holder, too, but that wasn't working this time around. Breathing into a bag seems to be a cousin of holding one's breath (using CO2 to deaden the nerves in the diaphragm that are related to hiccupping). I tried the acupressure method of pressing on your philtrum. No dice. I tried the spoonful-of-sugar method, the drink-water-quickly method, and a few others. The bag method actually works, so I'm sticking with it. I wrote that you're supposed to use a paper bag, but all I have is plastic. Seems to work fine. Thanks for the well-wishes.

John Mac said...

Could this be a symptom of something you be concerned about? I've never had a hiccup episode that lasted for hours, let alone days. Hope this passes soon.

Kevin Kim said...

Har har