Hello Everyone,
I went through a bout of hiccups a few years ago. They hit me all the time and I was getting driven out of my mind. A friend of mine swore that a teaspoon of peanut butter would stop them in their tracks. I didn’t believe at first, but desperate I tried it and to my surprise it works! My wife got the hiccups, tried the PB and it worked for her as well. Now, our Great Dane puppy seems to get the hiccups quite often. I tried it on him and it works for him as well.
As anyone else here used PB to stop hiccups? Did it work for you and if it did why do you think it works?
I read about that in one of the old Foxfire books years ago. I’ve used peanut butter a lot, almost always with success. Now I use a deep breathing/meditation thing that generally works without the calories.
(The Foxfire books were a collection of Appalachian wisdom, folklore and practical application instruction in cabin building, hog slaughtering, whiskey making and all other aspects of mountain living. Oddly enough, Slate magazine had an article about the books just this week.)
I recall a cure that worked well for me back in my Texas days. My regular bar offered a drink called a Prairie Fire – a shot of tequila with several shakes of tabasco sauce in it (seven shakes I think, but you can moderate it accoring to taste). Very good, but it always gave me the hiccups. So the bartender shook several drops of Worcestershire sauce on a slice of lemon and had me suck on the lemon. Worked every time.
As a kid and into teen years, I used to get hiccups all day, once they started. On and off, bouts for a few minutes at a time, all day. Not fun.
I was instructed by someone, I don’t remember who (you would think I would remember someone who gave me such a useful instruction!), to lie on the floor on by back. Bend the knees so the entire spine is flat with the floor, and stretch the chin upwards as if someone were pulling it toward the ceiling with a string, while the head is still on the floor. Concentrate on deep breathing, making sure to stretch as flat and as long as possible, so the diaphragm is being stretched during deep breathing as much as possible.
I’ve never had to do that for more than a minute. Stops the spasms for me very quickly, and more importantly, they don’t keep coming back all day.
Peanut butter is my own favorite, delicious cure for hiccups. I can’t remember where I heard about it. I’ve been doing it for a long time, but I don’t get hiccups very often.
I have a terrible time with hiccups–never heard of this one but will try it next time. When I get them, everything stops, I can barely function. Very much like getting punched very hard in the stomach about every 40 seconds. I get nauseated after a few minutes of that. I’ve never found a substance that works to get rid of them, my only recourse is biofeedback, just basically talking myself out of them. PB would be a lot faster.
I’ve used a teaspoon of peanut butter for hiccups for a long time - it always works for me, too. Plus, I have an excuse to eat a teaspoon of peanut butter! Win/win!
I remain pretty convinced that these are all placebo cures and that’s it’s just something to distract yourself. I’m able to stop my hiccups when they happen just by contracting my chest muscles.
I could be misremembering after all these years, but I’m pretty sure I’m not. I recall the fun of trying to say “Worcestershire” after imbibing a quantity of tequila.
EDIT: Ah yes, a recipe using Worcestershire sauce is here.
A trick I learned was to fill a cup halfway up with water. Lean forward (preferably over the sink), tilt the cup forward, and drink a few gulps from the far side of the cup–support the cup using your upper lip instead of the lower one (like this!). You’ll probably spill some your first couple tries, but voila! You are now hiccup-free. Works for me every time.
I sorta think that too, but I think the peristalsis and simultaneous distraction does something. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told myself, “Okay Rach, this is just a placebo, and because you know that, it totally won’t work this time.” But then it does!
I don’t get it. It must be magic. But then, I don’t think you’d be able to fund research into stopping hiccups… so who knows why it works!? The point is that it does.
A tablespoon of sugar (chewed) works for me, and is readily available at restaurants and bars. I usually have a packet or two from a restaurant tucked away at work or in my purse.
I’d never heard of peanut butter but I’ve used sugar for the same thing. I’d guess they work the same way: distracting you and making you alter your breathing pattern enough to interrupt the involuntary movements.
Peanut butter works everytime for anyone that I know who has tried it.
I believe it works by making you swallow differently. I don’t know if there is a word for it but stick a glob in your gob and you will be doing it.
