Persistent Chronic Hiccups

[Edem]

Since chidhood, i noticed i usually have the prolonged hiccups;whiles eating and after eating. Sometimes, it occurs about a 100 times in 15 minutes.Its usually more serious when i take in carbonated drinks and spicy foods.Tryd all those traditional methods like a pat on te back, drinking water(which maks it worse) and licking sugar and salt, taking deep breaths,etc. and they all proved futile. I learnt that it has to do with an irritation of he phrenic nerve, thats all.I suppose its not too common then, but what is the medicinal cure?

[National Jewish]

Swallowing air is a common cause of hiccups and often associated with eating fast.  The first thing to try is to chew your food more thoroughly before swallowing and allow more time between swallows.

There have been reports of dozens of different causes of hiccups from inflammation of the esophagus to various tumors to a variety of neurological diseases but life-long hiccups, while a major nuisance, are almost always a benign condition.

A number of drugs have been reported to help, most recently BaclofenŽ, a skeletal muscle relaxant drug.  Surgery involving phrenic and vagus nerve has been reported to be effective as has acupuncture and near infra-red variations of acupuncture.

You should be cautious in considering any therapy that involves nerve irritation or damage of the phrenic or vagus nerves.