Dr. K.Rabitha

Before starting out for a walk, relax and take a deep breath and fill your lungs with fresh air which will move them into their most efficient position. After you exhale, maintain the chest in this position with shoulders down and slightly back throughout the walk.

Involuntary contractions of the diaphragm muscle, located at the base of the lungs, causes hiccups. Such spasms cause the sudden, quick closure of the vocal cords, during air inhalation, causing you to gasp with the characteristic ‘hic’ sound. Hiccupping is an uncontrolled reflex action, often triggered for no apparent reason. 

They occur frequently and are more common in newborns and infants.  A hiccupping bout generally continues for a few minutes and subsides on its own.  These spasms generally occur in a constant rhythmic pattern. They are often set off by anything that creates a pressure on or around the diaphragm. These include:

1. Eating too fast or because of the speedy swallowing of food 
2. Consumption of exceptionally hot and spicy foods
3. Indigestion
4. Consumption of aerated fizzy beverages
5. Lack of sleep, stress and exhaustion
6. Pregnancy
7. Smoking
8. Excess consumption of Alcohol
9. Intake of certain medications

How problematic can they be?
In most cases, hiccups stop within a short period of time. Persistent hiccups however, keep occurring for over 48 hours and some continue for over a month, which are also medically termed as Intractable Hiccups. Medical attention is required when hiccups start interfering with sleeping or eating patterns, cause intense breathing difficulty and vomiting. Relentless hiccupping can be painful and extremely tiring. It creates discomfort in the upper abdominal region, and hinders normal routine.

Home remedies for it
Hiccups are generally not serious and most often resolved by simple home remedies. Some of these home remedies include quickly drinking a glass of water, holding your breath for a while or evenly breathing into a paper bag.

Persistent hiccups, that occur at frequent intervals and continue for weeks and months could, however, be indicative of an underlying serious health condition. Therefore, you must visit a doctor if your hiccups do not subside easily.

Incessant hiccups could be symptoms of any type of liver or abdominal disease or lung disease such as pneumonia. Strokes, brain tumours and certain nervous disorders may also cause hiccups; as such disorders create a disturbance in the functioning of the diaphragm. 

Medications
In case of painful, frequent hiccups, the physician may prescribe you some medications. These may include certain types of muscle relaxants, sedatives, analgesics or any other kind of stimulant that can help in providing a remedy.

How can you ‘prevent’ it?
The onset of a bout of hiccups, is mostly self induced, involuntary spasms, thus cannot often be predicted or prevented. However, certain precautions may be taken to avoid recurrence. Abstinence from smoking, controlled drinking, not gulping down food too fast are only a few ways that control the frequency of hiccups. However, it is always advisable to get yourself examined by a medical practitioner in case of a prolonged spell of hiccups.

Which medicines are safe to use during Pregnancy?

Normal pregnancy lasts for 38 to 42 weeks. However, there may be times during these weeks that you may have some physical issues such as vomiting, backache, and loose stools etc which require treatment with medicines.

Therefore, monitoring and managing these physical conditions becomes necessary to ensure a normal delivery.Management consists of both medicines and rehabilitation.Medicines are considered to be the first line of treatment; however, the health care provider needs to take care while prescribing medicines during pregnancy taking into consideration the harmful effects they can have on both – the mother and the foetus.  Medicines pass on via the placenta from the mother to the foetus. Hence, before prescribing any medicine the provider should check the possibilities of the medicine causing any congenital defect. You should avoid medicines from the time of conception till the first 10 weeks, as this is the time when the foetus is most prone to the get permanent congenital deformities. Medicines given in the later stages (after 10 weeks) may cause systemic damage. For example NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) may lead to problems during labour or organ defects in the foetus.

Therefore, medicines should always be avoided during pregnancy. Still there are certain medicines, which can be taken but after consulting your physician. Let’s discuss the medicines that are safe during pregnancy.

The following is a list of medicines and their effects during pregnancy:

1. Analgesic Medicines

2. Opiates

3. Anaesthetics

4. Thrombolytics - The possible advantages of this class may balance the risk during pregnancy. Common medicines used are: Alteplase, Reteplase, Streptokinase, Urokinase.

5. Antidotes

6. Penicillins

7. Cardiac agents

8. Diabetes: Insulin is safe to use during diabetes.

9. Antacids

10. Corticosteroids: Advised for short term use

Always talk to your physician in case of any complication and before taking any medicine given above.