What to do if you hiccup several times a day

Hiccups are a common symptom for people. When people hiccup, they will feel great discomfort. If hiccups are caused by overeating, there is generally no need to worry too much, but if they are caused by an illness, then active treatment must be carried out. The main diseases that cause hiccups include: stomach inflammation, stroke warning signs, cancer, pneumonia, deteriorating kidney function, brain tumors and head trauma.

1. Gastric inflammation

If you often experience belching and hiccups, or even burp unconsciously without eating, you may have a stomach disease. If you experience dull pain in the upper abdomen, stomach pain, bloating after eating, loss of appetite, or burning pain in the chest or throat, you should see a specialist for diagnosis and treatment.

2. Stroke warning signs

For the elderly, repeated hiccups need more attention because they may be a precursor to a stroke. Strokes that occur in the back of the head are more likely to cause persistent hiccups and are more common in women.

The reasons why hiccups occur after a stroke are: on the one hand, after a stroke, intracranial lesions directly or indirectly affect the respiratory center and the vagus nerve nucleus of the brainstem, causing blockage of the cerebral blood vessels that regulate breathing and heartbeat, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, abnormal discharge of the vagus nerve, continuous contraction of the diaphragm muscles, and hiccups; on the other hand, stress ulcers often occur after a stroke, leading to upper gastrointestinal hiccups.

3. Beware of cancer

There have been some clinical cases of liver cancer being diagnosed due to continuous hiccups. Because continuous hiccups may be caused by a tumor that causes the liver to swell, irritating the diaphragm and causing diaphragm spasm.

In addition, patients with esophageal cancer, cardia cancer, and gastric cancer may also experience symptoms of continuous hiccups. Especially for cardia cancer, the cardia is located at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach. It opens when eating and closes after eating to ensure that food in the stomach does not reflux into the esophagus.

Hiccups caused by cardiac cancer have the following two major characteristics.

① Hiccups do not occur due to overeating or being too full, but are recurrent and frequent, and are difficult to stop;

② Since cardiac cancer mostly occurs in the lower esophagus, the already narrow cardia becomes even narrower, and there will be a feeling of dryness, tightness, pain, and obstruction when food passes through. In addition, hiccups caused by cardiac cancer are also accompanied by unpleasant eating, pain under the xiphoid process, etc.

4. Pneumonia

If persistent hiccups are accompanied by respiratory symptoms such as coughing, sputum, and shortness of breath, it may be caused by pneumonia. A respiratory physician can confirm the diagnosis with a chest X-ray.

In addition to pneumonia, metabolic diseases such as bronchial asthma, alcoholism, and gout can also cause persistent hiccups.

5. Deterioration of renal function

If you have chronic kidney disease and start to burp more frequently, it may be a sign that your kidney function is further deteriorating. Hiccups, along with symptoms such as bone pain, unusual breath odor and muscle twitching, mean that patients have moved beyond the early stages of chronic kidney disease (such as headaches, fatigue and loss of appetite). Hiccups accompanied by other symptoms may indicate worsening kidney problems and may require treatment such as dialysis.

6. Brain tumors and head trauma

Brain tumors and head trauma can stimulate the cranial nerves and reflexively cause phrenic nerve spasm, which can also cause persistent hiccups.