Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Hiccups when having a cold

Since recently I've discovered that whenever I catch a cold, for a period I also suffer from non-stop hiccups. Generally this lasts about 2 days, the hiccups themselves stop for short periods (1/2 hr or so) every now and then (maybe 4-5 times a day), but start up again. Unlike any hiccups which occur when I don't have a cold, these ones cannot be stopped by the usual means (eg: drinking water, concentrating and relaxing).

This has been a regular occurrence over the last year (during which I caught cold about 4 times), and while I've read that hiccups can be caused by irritation to the diaphragm, I haven't heard or read about anyone who consistently suffers from hiccups when having a cold. Is there anything I should be concerned about regarding this?
22 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I have noticed that almost without fail I can tell when I am getting sick because I get really painful strong hiccups that may occur on and off for days. I first had this problem when I was 22 or so, I am now 40. I have noticed that when this happens I will hiccup if I cough or take a quick breath. They are painful and annoying. They are also very loud and hard to quiet down which makes my kids laugh at me...
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
try drinking a very cold glass of super sweet sugar and water, as cold as you can drink and as sweet as you can make( Very Cold And Very Sweet sugar and water works every time for e
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
try drinking a very cold glass of super sweet sugar and water, as cold as you can drink and as sweet as you can make (Very Cold And Very Sweet sugar and water works every time for me)
Avatar universal
Taking a Gelusil tablet or a 5 ML of Gelusil or DIgene has helped me . I have  issue for many years.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I get these too! I found that drinking water through a straw while bending over as far as you can go with your chin tucked works EVERY TIME!! Something about the way water flows through the straw and abnormally into your body while bending relieves the hiccups almost instantly. Let me know if this works! WHEN this works!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had a cold/flu combined with some SERIOUS hiccups. As people have mentioned earlier, no tricks worked. My hiccups wouldn’t allow me to sleep and would jerk my entire body (hurting & tasting stomach acid at times). Night # 2 I started taking hot showers & would drink the hot water while standing in the shower. I know it might be gross to some you, but I was desperate. This made my hiccups disappear for about an hour or two allowing me to sleep. They’d start back up if i had a coughing fit though. TONS of showers that weekend!

Also, eating ice helped a little.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi to everyone!
I am glad I am not the only one!!!
Few weeks ago I was walking weakly dressed when was really cold, and probably got flu. I got temperature, and after it in the middle of the week, for the first time in my life, terrible unstoppable hiccup started. With all possible tricks it was paused for some short time and it was continued in like hour or two. After four days I ended in emergency hospital and they told me that they face with that problem for the first time in their life. All examinations and tests were good.
In the end when I went home I took tablets of Activated charcoal, and hiccup stopped! And didnt come back! After it I was drinking antibiothics for next 10 days, because of flu... but its already a few weeks that I have temperature like 36.5-37, ... somehow I thought that earlier my temperature was 36.1....
I am not sure if I have reasons to be worried...
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
just adding a " my sister too " she has this right now but its flu like, she gets the dry heaves with severe stomach cramps , diarrhea and hiccups .it lasts about 2 1/2 to 3 days. she was getting this every 3 to 4 mos. it just happened the other day after 2 yrs. she doesn't get a cold, hiccups is the same as all of you.
anybody else out there like her . she doesn't think its the flu, it's exactly the same everytime.

concerned
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
i know it has been so long since you have posted this, but I have a suggestion that may or may not be it at all. I used to get hiccups constantly and the stomach problems like your sister. These symptoms would even come with illnesses where vomitting was not a symptom. I was diagnosed later with tachycardia. Since I have been on the medicine for it, I have a lot fewer hiccups and rarely ever throw up or have diarrhea. I think when I got sick my heart would beat fast because my body was working hard. It also did it randomly when I was not sick but I thought I was sick because of the symptoms. You never know. I battled this for years with no diagnosis and went on several stomach medicines. You just have to know your body. It is worth a shot though. and just to make you feel better, my doctor says it is not dangerous like most heart problems just annoying.
Avatar universal
Just adding a "me too" Always get recurring hiccups hicoughs with the cold. I am almost certain that is that it is related to the swallowing (and extra swallowing) of air that I seem to do with a sore throat. A very common cause of hiccups is extra air swallowing. I can sometimes get rid of them by holding my breath. And I mean REALLY filling lungs to absolute maximum then tensing my body hard. Take in as much air as you can and when you can feel a hiccup coming bear down hard. If the hiccup escapes breath out and start over again to hold your breath. Sometimes fizzy drinks also seem to work. I guess that is another way to encourage the extra swallowed air to come out as a burp rather than developing hiccups.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
This worked for me. Tried the suggestions posted nothing worked. Was getting really frustrated because the constant hiccups can  make you extremely tired. As gross as it may seem instead of making all night trips to the bathroom, to spit out the copious amounts of mucus this flu generates, I used a disposable cup to expel the mucus into instead of swallowing when I could not get to the bathroom.

Almost instantaneously there was marked improvement. My theory was that our bodies were trying to tell us we have worked hard to expel this virulent virus and now through swallowing gave us what for with aggressive hiccups as a way of telling us do not swallow any expelled mucus.

I hope it helps someone. Believe me I was at my wits end and this really worked.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I too have the same problem.  This has been happening for the last 7-8 years.  I get cold once in a year, during monsoon season and the cold is accompanied with hiccups.  It lasts for 2 to 4 days.  Consulted doctors on few occasions, but no remedy found so far.  I am just through with this years attack yesterday.  Luckly this year it lasted for only for two days.  When it is severe, i get three hiccups at one go.

Please let me know in case any one has any solution for this.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same and I know it is because of my hiatus hernia which effects your diaphragm and gives you problems with acid reflux. Wondering if anyone else has this problem of hiccups has been diagnosed with a hiatus hernia?? A simple colonoscopy would determine if you have one or not. It's nothing serious but I believe the tear of weakness in the diaphragm it's what is causing the irritation when we have a cold and subsequently leading to hiccups.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
fingertips half inch below the nipple with half inch gaap in each figertip giving accupresure by pressing hard . Place finger tips one below the other piercing diaphargm in vertical direction....now start taking deep breaths...inhale exhale & keep repeating it for few minutes .it did worked for me so thought to share here coz I know how tiring and irritating it is. Being and Indian I hardly used to do any breathing or yoga exercises due to fast busy life , but
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
This worked easy for me Just now. Thank you.. Will try again when it come. I have this issue for many years. Whenever I get chest cold I get non stop hiccup for intermittently for a few days and stops.
Avatar universal
I too had the same experience today. I am 31 & suffering from flu from past 3-4 days. Yesterday night after having my dinner I startedhaving hiccups and it was just unstoppable by ordinary means. This was my first experience of such hiccups and it was so irritating and tiring. It somehow stopped after an hour or two and luckily I felt asleep but today afternoon after having light lunch it was even worse. Hiccups were more paining and almost pulled deep nerves near my diapharm. It was then when I started searching net for some quick relief and I found one that worked for me. Its and Indian yoga/Ayurveda remedy that worked after searching desperately for an hour. Here how I did : Sit straight with knees fold in normal relaxing position. Now just hold your all fingertips half inch below the nipple with half inch gaap in each figertip giving accupresure by pressing hard . Place finger tips one below the other piercing diaphargm in vertical direction....now start taking deep breaths...inhale exhale & keep repeating it for few minutes .it did worked for me so thought to share here coz I know how tiring and irritating it is. Being and Indian I hardly used to do any breathing or yoga exercises due to fast busy life , but today I understand that remedy for almost every disease is linked with breathing ....deep breathing and meditation can definately change our lifestyle....
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
10/14/2016 Wow, this has worked for me. I have been with hiccups almost two days in a half, non-stop. This method work very well for me. I'll keep trying it.  I recall back in the early 2000-s I had to go to ER because I was tired of having hiccups for almost 5 days. I remember clearly got in, and they have had gave me some kind of shot. That it worked within 2-3 minutes later, my hiccups was gone..But did not know what it was, and didn't asked either. I was released within 2-3 hours later.  Thank you so much for this tip my friend.  
Avatar universal
Recently my father had a persistent chest cold. I noticed too that whenever he was sick he would start to hiccup. This time it was so terrible it went on for about two weeks. He almost couldnt work. When he was absolutely fed up I took him to the emergency room where they have a strong nerve antagonist, it worked for a little and  right before he as discharged it came back. They then have him a strong sedative which worked for a few days but they still came back. Now he has another cold and the hiccups have returned. I would love to know what this is about and what can be done.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi , I have the same issue. Whenever i have cold , especially chest cold i get non stop hickups. No amount of drinking water, holding breath, or anything wont work. I just have to wait for the cold to get better for this to stop. When searching on this topic i was wondering if this is common and dose not seem so.. but now i know there are others as well suffering from the same senario. Any suggestions on this would be of great releif.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the cold with hiccups: very annoying. I found a way to stop them for hours at a time. In all seriousness, a good orgasm will get your diaphragm to relax so you can get some sleep. At least, it works for this guy.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same thing,about the 3rd day of it now.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was just searching the web for whether there's any known link between hiccups and a cold. The sure-fire way I know that I'm getting a cold (as opposed to just allergies), is that in the early days of having a cold, I get these persistent, painful hiccups that are really hard to stop with the usual methods. It's a clinically undocumented anomaly, apparently, that some of us get hiccups when we have a cold. Go figure!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have never talked to a doctor about this, but I share your predicament.  Hiccups for DAYS, and like you stopping maybe 4 or 5 times a day for 1/2 hour.  Eating will generally cause them to cease, but only for the subsquent 30 minutes.  And during times when I'm healthy with no cold I never have any hiccup issues.  Extremely aggravating.  I'm 45 and have followed this pattern for about 15 years.  So glad to hear I'm not the lone human on the planet with this issue, but maybe still there are only a handful of us.  I do worry this is a sign we are more susceptible to a future neurological disorder.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have never talked to a doctor about this, but I share your predicament.  Hiccups for DAYS, and like you stopping maybe 4 or 5 times a day for 1/2 hour.  Eating will generally cause them to cease, but only for the subsquent 30 minutes.  And during times when I'm healthy with no cold I never have any hiccup issues.  Extremely aggravating.  I'm 45 and have followed this pattern for about 15 years.  So glad to hear I'm not the lone human on the planet with this issue, but maybe still there are only a handful of us.  I do worry this is a sign we are more susceptible to a future neurological disorder.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, I too started having this isuue from this week. I had cold flu a week ago aswell. But i dint had hickups. This week i again started having mild cold and soar throat. I started having hickups now and then for long period ( 2-3 Hrs). I tried all ways to stop it by holding breath, by drinking water, etc.. but no way i could. It stops automatically at one stage. Pls help what this could be. as i could see you also having the same.
Helpful - 0
723959 tn?1314744225
Never heard of that, have you told your doctor?

Kalie
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Cold and Flu Community

Top General Health Answerers
19694731 tn?1482849837
AL
80052 tn?1550343332
way off the beaten track!, BC
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
In this unique and fascinating report from Missouri Medicine, world-renowned expert Dr. Raymond Moody examines what really happens when we almost die.
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
When it comes to your health, timing is everything
We’ve got a crash course on metabolism basics.
Learn what you can do to avoid ski injury and other common winter sports injury.