Is there anything more annoying than the hiccups?
You’ve eaten too fast, enjoyed your drink a little *too* much and suddenly, your body is insisting you pay the price by making you make these little ‘hic’ noises like a little frog sat in the corner.
We’ve all been told the old wive’s tales about how to get rid of them, from jumping out at people unexpectedly to ‘shock’ them into stopping or just drinking a glass of water upside-down. Nbd.
However, it seems we may now actually have the solution to hiccups.
How to actually get rid of hiccups
So, what do we actually do to get rid of these? Does it involve being upside-down, doing cartwheels perhaps?
Well, no.
According to Dr. Eileen Li, a physical therapist and acupuncturist, it’s a lot more simple than that.
Speaking in a recent TikTok video, Li revealed that what we need to be focusing on when we’re tackling hiccups, is helping our diaphragm as this is where they bubble up from.
Pointing to pressure points in the body, Li then demonstrated how we can use these to help with our hiccuping woes. First, we place our pinkies in the ‘ditches’ between our noses and eyebrows. Then, hold it for 30 seconds and repeat that motion five times.
Another trick that Dr. Li recommended was finding ‘the most meaty part of the thumb’ and holding it for around 30 seconds, doing this five times on each hand as this will help to relax the diaphragm.
One commenter said: “I tried everything other than water (I was in bed and lazy) and this was the ONLY thing that worked.”
Another added: “This actually worked.”
Listen, if it saves me from the cringe and discomfort of hiccuping, I’ll try anything.