My roommate has chronic hiccups! (sort of)

[chicaloca]

Okay, this is really weird....For the last few months, my roommate has been getting hiccups really badly every few weeks, but now it's getting more and more frequent. I know there's no official explanation for what causes hiccups, but does anyone here have any triggers that set hiccups off for them? (And no, she doesn't get them after drinking or anything!) :P And do you have any cures that work well and keep the hiccups away? I showed her this thing where you have someone hold your ears shut really tightly while you gulp a glass of water. It works every time, but a lot of times her hiccups come back within the hour, plus she can only do that if someone else is around.

Advice? Thanks in advance!

Edited to add: They're pretty bad, body-jarring, loud hiccups. I don't know if that makes a difference in how she should treat it.

[GOPisEvil]

1. I hold my breath and count to 10...

...or say, "George W. Bush has been re-selected." If that doesn't scare the hiccups away, nothing will.

[chicaloca]

2. hehe....

That got a laughccup from her. I actually tried to scare her earlier by screaming like I'd seen Asscroft, but it didn't scare her...She just assumed I'd seen a cockroach.

Thanks for the advice.

[Joanne98]

3. My dog gets hiccups

when he gets upset. Holding your breath works.

[Madrone]

4. Have her eat a spoonful of granulated sugar.

I heard that once, and it did work for me when I put it to the test.

[chicaloca]

6. hmmm....

We don't have any granulated sugar (just brown sugar--that's not the same, is it?) but she says she'll keep that in mind for the future.

She said she's held her breath to the point of almost passing out in the past, but it doesn't work. :shrug:

Anyhow, her hiccups have gotten less violent in the last few minutes, but we still want suggestions for the future. So, keep 'em coming! :)

[NYC]

5. Hiccups can be serious.

Please go read these links:
http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic252.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003068.htm

I read about hiccups years ago. It is worth finding out what is going on with your roommate. I'm sorry I can't find better information for you.

[chicaloca]

7. wow, that was incredibly helpful

It's possible that it's her diet...We both eat loads of Indian food, and if spicy food can cause it... :think:

I'll probably send her those two links in an email so she can refer to them any time.

Thanks a bunch!

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

8. I used to get hiccups like that before my period

It was annoying because I couldn't stop it but otherwise it did no harm. Sorry I have no solution to offer but it's a possible explanation.

[qanda]

9. Call the doctor without delay

Chronic hiccups can be a sign of serious illness. I hope it turns out to be nothing major, but it's worth having it checked.

[holeinboatoutatsea]

10. time for a new roommate?

that would be annoying!

I refuse to live with anyone that snores with their eyes open.

[Spider Jerusalem]

11. There was a hog farmer from Iowa...

who had the hiccups continuously, more or less, for over seventy years...hope your roommate fares better.

And...a method of getting rid of hiccups that seems to work often for me is taking a deep breath, swallowing, holding the glottis closed for a count of 30, then exhaling.

[private_ryan]

12. PM me your address.

I'll send a picture of mine ASAP :)

[jbm]

13. I'm hoping it's just a persistent case of hiccups..

and nothing serious. Assuming it's just persistent hiccups,I have a really obnoxious cure(it's not foolproof though..sometimes ya gotta pay).:)

Anyway,take a dollar and wave it in her face and tell her she can have the dollar if she can hiccup one more time. You have to be all taunting and teasing though and if she's short tempered you might get smacked..lol. It usually works!

[Shananigans]

14. Try to hiccup...

When I get the hiccups, I stop, take a deep breath and try to hiccup as hard as I can.... it works every time!