From indigestion to cancer. What problems can hiccups indicate? | Healthy Life

Hiccups are one of those minor human ailments (regardless of age) that are not studied in medical schools and, by and large, are not given much importance. Meanwhile, hiccups can affect our overall well-being and mood, especially when they occur at the most inopportune times - for example, during a public speech or a romantic date. We all want to be beautiful and pleasant, but here suddenly there are such uncontrollable sounds and movements.

Reasons unknown

Until now, no one knows for sure why we suddenly begin to hiccup. Another rhetorical question: how long will this trouble continue? And finally, the third and main mystery: why does our body need this?

Scientists claim that this phenomenon occurs as a result of irritation of the nerve endings passing through the diaphragm, but why this irritation occurs still remains a mystery. Some believe that hiccups are a type of nervous tic, while others suggest that there is a hiccup center in the brain that causes spasm of the esophagus, and that this mechanism supposedly protects us from harmful excesses in food and drink. But most doctors do not recognize anything useful behind hiccups; unlike a cough, which rids the body of phlegm, this phenomenon does not bring with it any relief.

From a physiological point of view, hiccups are a nonspecific breathing disorder. The characteristic sound accompanying this strange phenomenon is a consequence of the sharp slamming of the glottis, which occurs due to sharper than usual convulsive contractions of the diaphragm (the muscular barrier separating the chest and abdominal cavities). The time between the contraction of the diaphragm and the appearance of sound is only 35 thousandths of a second. At this time the person is not breathing.

There are many reasons for the occurrence of such sudden convulsive sounds: hypothermia (especially in young children), excessive distension of the stomach (associated with excessive appetite), excessive haste when absorbing food or water, in which air is swallowed, nervous shock, etc. Functional, or nervous, hiccups usually occur in people with a weak nervous system, such hiccups disappear after calming down. Uncontrollable hiccups can overtake a person when drinking alcohol. The same reaction can also be caused by general intoxication caused by taking certain medications - for example, sulfonamides.

What is hiccups?

Hiccups are a reflex contraction of the diaphragm muscles, accompanied by a sharp expulsion of a small amount of air with protrusion of the abdomen. The function of hiccups is to remove excess air from the stomach. Usually, the appearance of hiccups after eating is not pathological if the contractions appear rarely, do not last long, that is, they pass quickly.

Symptoms and forms

Symptomatically, hiccups begin with a characteristic “hic” sound. It comes out due to the sudden appearance of a small portion of air during contraction of the diaphragmatic muscles through a closed glottis. Usually a person hiccups while eating, after eating, regardless of the meal.

There are several forms of the condition:

Physiological, when you hiccup for no more than 10 minutes in normal health. Such reductions go away on their own.
Pathological, when the diaphragm contracts to several hours, less often - days. There may be complaints about short-term manifestations of symptoms.

Depending on the cause of hiccups in adults, the following subtypes are distinguished:

Central hiccups - appear against the background of injury or tumors in the brain tissues of the head and back, in hysterical conditions, psycho-emotional problems.
Peripheral - occurs when the phrenic and vagus nerves are damaged.
Toxic - develops from intoxication with poisons, toxins, inedible mushrooms, stale foods, and medications.
Reflected - provoked by intestinal pathologies: inflammation in the small and large intestines, parasitic infestation by roundworms or pinworms.

Unusual symptom

Hiccups resulting from external causes are absolutely safe. It goes away on its own. But long-lasting, painful hiccups can be a symptom of certain medical conditions. For example, an inflammatory process in the abdominal cavity or pneumonia often causes irritation of the diaphragm, which leads to painful persistent hiccups.

The same sign sometimes indicates such terrible ailments as a malignant tumor of the lungs or liver. Spasms of the diaphragm, accompanied by indecent sounds, as well as rapid heartbeats, may also indicate the presence of a hiatal hernia. People who have undergone surgery on the stomach or spine often experience breathing problems, which also lead to hiccups. Hiccups can also occur with certain diseases of the brain and spinal cord, as well as with myocardial infarction, infectious diseases, and very often with mental agitation.

In case of prolonged (more than two days) or even more protracted hiccups (more than 1 month), you should definitely consult a doctor. Long-term hiccups, accompanied by abdominal pain and nausea, may be a manifestation of a peptic ulcer or stomach tumor, as well as diseases of the liver, gallbladder or pancreas. In case of a prolonged attack of hiccups, it is recommended to consult a doctor, and if vomiting is added to the hiccups, especially with traces of blood, you should immediately call an ambulance. If you have hiccups very often or if they last too long, it will not hurt to take an x-ray after taking the barium mixture - this will help to find out if there is any mechanical obstruction in the esophagus. To eliminate hiccups that arise for other reasons, the doctor may prescribe certain medications, depending on what the disorder is associated with.

Causes of hiccups during and after meals

In adults

An adult hiccups during a meal and after he has just had time to eat, for harmless reasons, such as swallowing air during conversations, washing down food with water, overeating, inability to digest certain foods, or quickly absorbing food. A person may complain: I feel sick after eating too cold or too hot food. But there is a list of reasons that are considered pathological and provoke long-term, debilitating or short-term, but frequent hiccups. The main ailments why hiccups occur during and after meals:

problems with the nervous system;
diseases of the esophagus, gastrointestinal tract;
oncology in the brain, food tract;
diaphragmatic hernia;
renal failure.

In newborns and infants

More often than adults, newborns suffer from hiccups. This is due to the underdevelopment of the digestive system in every baby. The duration of hiccups can reach 5 minutes or more, up to an hour. The reasons for the appearance of hiccups in young children lie in physiology. Even in utero, rhythmic contractions of the diaphragm allowed fluid to circulate in the baby’s lungs, develop muscles and massage internal organs. With birth, the need for this reflex disappeared, but it will fade away for a long time. There are many provoking factors for the appearance of hiccups in infants. More often, this is intestinal hypertonicity, which is not yet sufficiently developed. Other reasons are:

overeating and too frequent feedings, when the baby’s gastrointestinal tract has not had time to digest food after the previous meal, and it is time for the second meal;
colic is a condition characteristic of the undeveloped digestive system of infants, which can also be caused by a violation of the diet of a nursing mother or an incorrectly selected artificial formula;
hypothermia when eating or fright (by bright light, cold hands of the mother) before eating;
swallowing milk from the breast too quickly or strong pressure from the bottle;
regurgitation, when, after the food just received goes back through the esophagus, the nerve endings are irritated, causing hiccups in the baby;
eating through a cry.

Hiccups in children can be caused by diseases associated with increased intracranial pressure, when the center of the hiccups in the brain is compressed. Another reason is an inflamed process in the lungs, which disrupts the transmission of signals from the vagus to the phrenic nerves.

Fighting methods

If hiccups are not associated with an illness, you can try to get rid of them in different ways.

● For example, Hippocrates advised to try to sneeze in such cases. Another method is to hold your breath for a long time and try to mentally distract yourself from your problem, switching to something more worthy of attention. If you find it difficult to hold your breath for a long time, put a plastic bag on your head - this will help increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood and, accordingly, relieve the spasm.

● If hiccups appear in a newborn baby after eating, carry the baby in a column, stroking his back. The air will come out and the hiccups will stop.

● Sometimes the cause of hiccups at such a young age is hypothermia. Check if the baby is cold - if so, wrap him up warmly, and the convulsive sounds will soon stop.

● If an older child is hiccupping, give him a drink of water - he may have eaten too much or was in too much of a hurry while eating.

● Among the quick methods of getting rid of hiccups, there is this one: you need to put a cup of water on the table in front of you, clasp your hands, bend low and, reaching out to the cup with your lips, without using your hands, drink the water in small, greedy sips.

● Some people advise swallowing a spoonful of granulated sugar without washing it down with water. You can eat something bitter or sour, as well as a piece of ice. For painful hiccups, a warm drink, a warm heating pad on the stomach, or, conversely, cold helps.

● You can also stop hiccups by reflex. Place your finger on the wall of your throat as if you are about to induce vomiting. This will help interrupt the established rhythm of hiccups.

● The rich and famous had their own secrets on how to deal with this annoying and indecent phenomenon in high society. For example, President Kennedy's personal physician considered this method to be the most effective: you need to open your mouth wide, grab your tongue with your fingers, stretch it slightly and hold it in this position for several seconds. The presidential doctor claimed that this was a sure and fast-acting remedy.

Cause of hiccups

Several factors that can cause short bouts of hiccups:

A stomach that is full of food or drinks, especially if the person has eaten or drank too quickly or too much
Sudden changes in body temperature, especially in young children when the body cools rapidly
Cigarette smoking and alcohol
Excitement, stress, fear or other overly heightened emotions
Heartburn. Hiccups and heartburn often form a vicious circle. They can cause each other or aggravate the causes of their appearance.
When someone remembers you (just kidding!)

Hiccups

Hiccups are convulsive contractions of the muscles of the diaphragm, a muscle membrane that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. Causes

Depending on the origin, there are a large number of reasons that lead to the development of hiccups.

In healthy people, hiccups can be triggered by:

fast intake of large amounts of food (due to overdistension of the stomach);
dry food;
drinking alcohol;
hypothermia;
sometimes occurs for no apparent reason.

Pathological causes of hiccups.

Causes of the central nervous system.

Infections that may be complicated by the development of encephalitis (inflammation of the brain):

measles is an acute infectious disease characterized by high fever, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and upper respiratory tract, conjunctivitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye) and skin rash;
chicken pox is an acute infectious disease characterized by high fever, general viral intoxication (poisoning of the body) and a characteristic rash;
rubella is an acute viral disease characterized by general intoxication of the body, high fever, conjunctivitis, a rash on the lower back, buttocks, on the flexor (inner) surfaces of the arms and enlarged cervical lymph nodes;
influenza is an acute viral disease with a predominance of high fever, cough, runny nose and severe general intoxication;
malaria is an infectious disease accompanied by high fever, chills, enlarged liver, spleen and anemia (anemia);
toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii (an organism of the protozoan kingdom), characterized by high fever, enlarged liver, spleen, headache and nausea.

Infections that may be complicated by the development of meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain):

meningococcal infection is an acute infectious disease accompanied by damage to the nose, pharynx, meninges and general intoxication of the body;
syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease affecting the skin, mucous membranes, internal organs, bones and nervous system;
mumps (mumps) - inflammation of the parotid salivary gland;
rubella;
toxoplasmosis.

Traumatic brain injury.

Hysteria (mental illness) and some mental disorders (depression, manic-depressive syndrome).

Diseases of the nervous system - tumors of the brain and spinal cord, multiple sclerosis (replacement of normal nervous tissue with connective tissue) and other demyelinating (affecting myelin ('electrical insulation of nerves')) diseases.

Various diseases.

Lung tumors.
Pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura, the membrane that covers the lungs).
Damage to the diaphragm and phrenic nerve (neuritis).
Compression of the phrenic nerve by a tumor of the mediastinum (anatomical formation in the middle parts of the chest).
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the reflux of acidic stomach contents (a mixture of gastric juice and eaten food) into the esophagus and, as a result, irritation and damage to its walls.
Food intolerance or allergy (hypersensitivity of the body's immune system to a foreign substance, in this case to food).
Diaphragmatic hernia (hernia of the esophageal opening (through which the esophagus penetrates from the chest cavity into the abdominal diaphragm)). Occurs when the abdominal portion (which is located in the abdominal cavity) of the esophagus moves through the hiatus of the diaphragm into the chest cavity.
Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach).
Dyspepsia (neurosis) of the stomach (a complex of symptoms associated with pain, discomfort, burning in the stomach, occurring against the background of nervous disorders (depression, hysteria, emotional and mental stress)).
Peptic ulcer of the stomach, duodenum (formation in the mucous membrane of the stomach, duodenum of defects of varying depths (erosions, ulcers)).
Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder), cholelithiasis (formation of stones in the gallbladder), postcholecystectomy syndrome (a condition that occurs after surgery to remove the gallbladder).
Duodenogastric reflux is the reflux of the contents of the duodenum (a mixture of bile acids, semi-digested food and biologically active substances (enzymes)) into the stomach and, as a result, irritation and damage to its walls.
Tumors of the gastrointestinal tract (tumors of the stomach, pancreas, esophagus, intestines).
Pyloric stenosis (narrowing of the stomach at its junction with the duodenum), cancer (malignant tumor) of the stomach.

Toxic causes.

Toxic damage to the central nervous system (under the influence of alcohol, drugs, poisons).
Diabetes mellitus (a disease that causes high levels of glucose (blood sugar)).
Severe renal failure (uremia) is serious damage to the kidneys with a persistent decrease in their function, leading to the inability to remove toxic products from the blood.
Intoxication (poisoning of the body) in infectious diseases.
Complications of general anesthesia (pain relief).

Symptoms and course:

Most often, hiccups occur in response to some kind of irritation of the stomach, then a signal through the vagus nerve - the vagus - goes to the brain, and from it along the phrenic nerve - the phrenicus - goes to the diaphragm, causing its contraction - hiccups. Hiccups occur if a person has not eaten for a long time, following the so-called “sucking in the pit of the stomach,” or if he ate quickly and chewed food poorly, or when drinking large amounts of liquid, especially cold water.

Functional, or nervous, hiccups can be a consequence of nervous shock, especially in people with a weak nervous system, hot-tempered or touchy; such hiccups disappear after calming down. Long-term hiccups, accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, and drooling, require additional examination (gastroscopy), as it may be a manifestation of a peptic ulcer or stomach tumor, or a disease of the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas.

Recognition:

Hiccups are easily recognized, often accompanied by screaming or belching of air, which is swallowed during hiccups, and may result in vomiting, as overirritation of the gastric mucosa or its persistent spasm is possible.

First aid and treatment:

Treatment for hiccups

Episodic hiccups do not require specific treatment. It should go away on its own in 5-10 minutes. You can take a few deep sips of cold water or hold your breath.

For prolonged hiccups, treatment is aimed at eliminating the underlying disease that caused the hiccups:

encephalitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain);
meningitis (inflammation of the brain);
tumors of the brain and spinal cord;
gastritis (inflammation of the stomach);
gastric ulcer (formation of ulcers in the stomach), etc.).

Functional hiccups that arise as a result of an error in diet are eliminated by the “air retention” method: inhale deeply and hold the exhalation as long as possible, while the irritation of the nerve endings in the stomach weakens and intensifies in the lungs and bronchi, diverting attention.

Gradually, the processes of inhibition in the brain begin to prevail over excitation and the hiccups disappear. A warm drink, a heating pad on the stomach for a short time, or, conversely, cold helps. In case of a prolonged attack of hiccups, it is recommended to consult a doctor or call an ambulance if vomiting is added to the hiccups, especially with traces of blood in the vomit.

How to get rid of hiccups

Ice. Gargle with ice water. Carefully! You can get rid of hiccups, but still get a cold in your throat.
Inconvenient drinking . Drink water from a glass, but only from the opposite side to yourself. To do this, stand up, lean forward and start drinking small sips. Carefully! Water, of course, will spill on the floor and possibly on you.
Sugar . A tablespoon of sugar is an effective remedy for hiccups. Allegedly, the granularity of sugar can slightly irritate the esophagus, causing the nerves through which the signal from the brain travels to “reboot.”
Lemon. Place a thin slice of lemon on your tongue and suck like caramel.
Peanut butter. Americans believe that this is the best remedy for hiccups.
Spicy sauce. The spicier the sauce, the better, say proponents of this method. The heat and severity distract the body so much that it “forgets” about the hiccups and it stops.
Water. Drink a glass of warm water very slowly without breathing, holding your nose with your fingers.
Tea. Drink a glass of warm, strongly brewed tea in small sips.
Breath. Inhale deeply and hold your breath for 10 seconds, then exhale slowly. Repeat 3-4 times plus, if necessary, repeat after 20 minutes. Or just hold your breath.
Physical exercise. Sit on the floor and pull your knees to your chest, hugging them with your arms. Hold the pose for 2 minutes.
Language. Pull your tongue, grasping the tip with your fingers. This stimulates the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the esophagus, and relieves spasms of the diaphragm. For some people it has no effect!
Diaphragm. Apply light pressure to the diaphragm.
Nose. Apply gentle pressure to each side of your nostril when swallowing.
Paper bag. Breathe slowly and deeply... into a small paper bag. Attention! Stop if you feel dizzy. This increases the level of carbon dioxide in the blood and causes the diaphragm to contract more to let in more oxygen - the hiccup spasms disappear. And one more fun thing.
A napkin will help. Place one layer of paper towel over a glass filled with warm water. Drink water through a towel in small sips. You will have to make extra efforts and load the diaphragm with work, and this increased swallowing will relieve you of the hiccup spasms.