So, I know you’ve heard them. There are a ton of ‘remedies’ out there. Here is one site that boasts quite a list.

I personally have tried a number of them. Not only as the victim but as the healer. Everything from the ‘hold your breath’ intervention, to the ‘hold your breath – and scare you’ remedy. I think some of these remedies are simply created for the entertainment. Like the ‘take a drink of water from the opposite side of the glass’ suggestion. (Yep, tried it and witnessed others getting a shower they didn’t expect) I could make an entire blog post on just the endless list of remedy ‘scams’ out there.

Even the ‘bitters’ and sours’ method’ is not the most accurate method of hiccup relief. (From my years working at the bar in college)

A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a method that has been 100% successful for me and anyone else that has tried it. (Yep, I think I was at a bar at the time of this discovery)

For those of you who want to stop wasting your time and extinguish that repetitive ‘shock and awe’ of your diaphragm, here is my ‘secret’ method:

You need a full glass of water. I think you need at least an 8 oz glass (not that I’ve tried it any other way). It can be warm or cold. I don’t think water temperature is a gauging factor. Get a paper towel or a napkin and cover the top of the glass. Now drink the ENTIRE glass of water through the paper towel (napkin). (No. Not from the opposite side of the glass) Drink it like a normal human being.

A couple key points here:

• The paper towel or napkin has to be ‘somewhat’ porous, but thick. A piece of chancy material will make the effort null and void (I’ve learned this the hard way after drinking multiple glasses of water)
• You HAVE to drink the entire glass of water. No cheating or else it doesn’t work
• You will have to literally ‘suck’ the water through the material for it to work ( I firmly believe this is the key to the entire operation)
• Yes, you will be out of breath and almost choking to get that last gulp or two down.
• It will feel like you are going to hiccup again. (I think it’s purely a mental mind trick) But you won’t hiccup.

I wish I had a good scientific rationale that explained why this method works. My guess is it has something to do with the negative pressure you have to create when ‘sucking’ down the glass of water. Like I said, I’m guessing.

All I know, is that THIS WORKS. If done correctly, IT WORKS.

This post was inspired by Epijunky.

Image Source: Flickr

Carpe Diem

Tags: cure, hiccups