Don’t let hiccups ruin your mood!

Dr. Jeremy London, a heart surgeon based in Savannah, Georgia, is sharing a hack that he says will stop hiccups fast.

“Drip lemon or lime juice on the back of the throat. It will stop them almost immediately,” London assured his 393,000 TikTok followers in a clip last month that has racked up 28,000 views.


Dr. Jeremy London, a Georgia-based heart surgeon, is sharing a hack that he says will quickly stop the hiccups. "Drip lemon juice or lime juice on the back of the throat," he said on TikTok last month.
Dr. Jeremy London, a Georgia-based heart surgeon, is sharing a hack that he says will quickly stop the hiccups. “Drip lemon juice or lime juice on the back of your throat,” he said on TikTok last month. Dr. Jeremy London / TikTok

Hiccups are involuntary spasms of the diaphragm, which is the muscle that separates the abdomen from the chest. They start suddenly and tend to last only a few minutes, although there have been cases where they have lasted much longer.

Possible causes of hiccups include eating too fast, chewing gum that causes a person to swallow air, experiencing stress, or laughing too hard.

The next time you have hiccups, London suggests trying his citrus remedy. He’s not exactly sure why it works, but he proposed four possible reasons for its success.

“The first may be stimulation of the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down to the diaphragm,” London said. “This can restore sensory input from the diaphragm and stop the hiccup arc.”

London also theorized that the liquid stops hiccups because it activates the muscles at the back of the throat or because it causes a sudden change in the throat’s pH.

“And number 4, it could just be a simple distraction, a sudden sensory input that stops Hiccup in their tracks,” London mused.


Various methods have been suggested to stop hiccups, which are spasms of the diaphragm.
Various methods have been suggested to stop hiccups, which are spasms of the diaphragm. 9nong – stock.adobe.com

In 2022, CNN asked experts to test several solutions to the hiccups. They provided support by holding their breath and swallowing air, swallowing water while closing their ears, inhaling a lemon slice, and being scared.

Distraction can help “rewire the brain to stop hiccups. It’s not known exactly how, but it could work,” said Dr. Ali Seifi, director of the Neuro-ICU and associate professor in the department of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Targeting the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm, and/or the vagus nerve, which causes the body’s relaxation response, may be the key to treatment.

In the comments section, London’s followers also recommended eating a spoonful of peanut butter and drinking very cold water.


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Bildquelle: nypost.com