How To Get Rid Of Hiccups For Kids In 8 Easy Steps (Home Remedies)

How To Get Rid Of Hiccups For Kids

Wondering How to get rid of hiccups for kids? You might be troubled to see your little one getting annoyed. People have hiccups even before they are born, and it is normal for babies to have them while they’re still in the womb.

Most of the time, hiccups go away on their own, but we don’t always have the patience to wait for them to stop, so we look for ways to stop them. Before we can figure out How to get rid of Hiccups for kids, knowing what makes them happen can be helpful.

When you have hiccups, it can feel like they won’t go away for a long time. The diaphragm is a muscle that looks like a dome just below your chest. When you breathe, the diaphragm contracts and pulls the air you take in into your lungs.

Then, when you breathe out, it relaxes, letting the air out of your lungs. Like any other part of the body, the diaphragm can get sore. Because of the irritation, the diaphragm pulls down or spasms, which makes you draw air into your throat. When this air hits your voice box, your vocal cords close quickly, making the “hic” sound.

It can happen if you eat too much or fast, are excited or nervous, your environment or body temperature changes, or if your throat or stomach is bothering you.

A normal hiccup can last a few minutes; however, hiccups that continue for days or months are due to other medical concerns.

When we “hic-hic,” people tell us a lot of tips and tricks, like counting to 10 and holding our breath. Some of it might work, but some of it probably won’t. Some even try to scare you out of the hiccups. 

Children are much more energetic and active than adults, so it makes sense that they hiccup more than adults because of how they breathe.

What are Hiccups?

Hiccups are natural, involuntary reflexes that can occur as early as nine weeks of gestation. Though not a cause for concern, hiccups for kids can be annoying since they can disturb their daily activities and make them cranky and irritable. The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle found beneath the lungs, causes hiccups.

They are usually self-limiting and disappear on their own after a few minutes. On the other hand, children are not willing to wait for a hiccup episode to pass. As a result, parents must be prepared with remedies that can immediately stop the hiccups. Continue reading if your child has frequent bouts of hiccups.

This post discusses the different types of hiccups, their causes, and home remedies for hiccups in kids.

Are Hiccups Good Or Bad?

Hiccups are rather common in kids and should not be taken seriously. A recent study on babies says hiccups may boost brain development and help regulate breathing. According to the researchers, the hiccups provide brain impulses that help babies learn how to regulate their breathing.

Persistent hiccups, on the other hand, may suggest an underlying issue. Consult a doctor if the hiccups interfere with the child’s ability to eat, breathe, or sleep.

Types Of Hiccups

Hiccups are divided into three types based on how long each episode lasts.

1. Transient hiccups
2. Persistent hiccups
3. Intractable hiccups

• Transient hiccups are hiccups that last for a few seconds or minutes.
• Persistent hiccups are those that last for 48 hours to one month.
• Intractable hiccups are those that last for more than a month. This sort of hiccup is rare and often seen in adults.

Hiccups that are persistent and retractable might cause difficulties and impact the child’s quality of life.

Causes Of Hiccups In Kids

 The most common causes of hiccups in kids are as follows:

• Eating spicy foods
• Drinking carbonated drinks
• Indigestion
• Stress
• Bad odors
• Eating or drinking too much
• Eating or drinking too fast
• Drinking ice-cold water or very hot water

Apart from these major reasons, hiccups can also be caused by

• GERD (a condition in which stomach fluids reflux into the esophagus)
• Strong feelings, like being too excited.
• Over tiredness.

Hiccups indicate an underlying health disease that affects the esophagus, lungs, brain, or stomach in some exceedingly rare cases. Hiccups can also be induced by a side effect from surgery or medicine. Hiccups caused by these circumstances may last longer and impair the child’s normal activities.

Are kid hiccups dangerous?

No, hiccups in kids are not dangerous, and kids get them more often than adults do. But if a child has hiccups every day or every few days for days or weeks, they should see a doctor.

A child can get their first hiccups even before they are born, and they often happen to babies who are just born. This involuntary movement might seem funny, but there is a reason for it. The sound we made when we hiccup was used to come up with the word.

Hiccups are just spasms that can happen for many different reasons. A child gets more excited about everyday things than the average adult does.

When we normally breathe, air enters the lungs through the nose, and the diaphragm muscle relaxes to let the air out. But when a person hiccups, the air that is taken in gets stuck before it can reach the vocal cords. You might think that breathing and hiccuping are the same, but research shows that they are two different things the body does.

So, having hiccups doesn’t mean your body needs more air. Studies have also shown that babies’ hiccups do not affect their oxygen saturation, heart rate, breathing rate, or overall health.

Most of the time, hiccups are neither scary nor dangerous. If your kid gets chronic hiccups that extend for hours, it could be linked to underlying health issues.

How long do hiccups last?

People can have hiccups for anywhere from one minute to 48 hours.

Kids can get hiccups if they eat too quickly or don’t chew their food well enough before swallowing.

Hiccups can go on for a minute or longer before they stop. Your child might also get hiccups from drinking carbonated drinks, eating a big meal, changing temperature, being excited, or being emotionally stressed. Your child might get more hiccups than adults because their reflex control system hasn’t settled. It means that nerve impulses can get mixed up by these different signals.

Your kid won’t get hiccups if you teach him or her to chew food a little longer before swallowing, to eat slowly, and not to gulp drinks or food.

Don’t let your baby eat hard candies or gum, and don’t let them drink water through a straw. Your baby shouldn’t eat a lot of food at once because hiccups can happen when the stomach is full. You can also help your child when he or she is overly excited or upset.

If you see any changes in your child’s health, you should get medical help and advice immediately. In general, hiccups should go away on their own after a few minutes, but they can last for a few hours.

Is it normal for kids to hiccup often?

Kids, especially babies, often get hiccups, but they usually go away in a few minutes.

Some babies do like it when they hiccup. Your baby is fine if he or she gets hiccups more than once. But try not to use the old trick of scaring them, and the hiccups will disappear. There is no exact cause to tell when hiccups are coming on because they can be caused by more than one thing. We’ve seen several things that can cause hiccups. If you don’t eat or drink slowly, your diaphragm can spasm.

But the phrenic or vagus nerve is often to blame for hiccups that don’t go away. These are the nerves that move the diaphragm when you breathe. When these nerves are affected, your baby gets hiccups. When a foreign object is put in the ear, it can irritate the eardrum. Sore throats, esophageal cysts or tumors, goiters, and gastroesophageal reflux can also affect the nerves.

Doctors think your baby could get hiccups during the first 3 months of your pregnancy. But these hiccups are so small that moms don’t notice them until they are in their third trimester. Make sure the hiccup goes away in two days. If it hasn’t stopped by this time, it could be a sign of tumors, kidney failure, pneumonia, or problems with the digestive system. A doctor can give you medical help and treatment, but hiccups aren’t usually signs of these illnesses.

Even after the milk in a bottle is gone, your baby might continue to suck on it, taking in a lot of air. This makes a baby who is just born hiccup. They might also get hiccups if they drink breast milk or formula too quickly. Toddlers can also get hiccups while they sleep.

How To Get Rid Of Hiccups For Your Kids

Kids can stop hiccuping at home by drinking a glass of cold water, holding their breath for a few seconds, taking slow breaths, breathing into a paper bag, putting their head between their knees, or doing something else to distract them.

To get rid of hiccups for kids, there are simple home remedies that do work. It is important to teach children to stay calm while drinking or eating, to chew their food well before swallowing, to eat enough at each meal, and to keep them safe from sudden temperature changes. If your child’s diaphragm is tight, giving him or her cold water to drink might help.

Peppermint, chamomile, or fennel tea are some of the safest herbs for hiccups that cause muscle spasms. You should consider using a dropper to put two or three drops of tea in your child’s mouth until the hiccups stop.

To help their diaphragm relax, toddlers can drink cold water. Tickling is a better way to distract kids than usual, but make sure to stop if your child tells you to. Your child can use a paper bag for breathing into. They can also try taking a strong breath through the mouth when they start to hiccup.

You can also put a light downward pressure on their upper stomach and try to time it with their hiccups. If a child’s hiccups worsen, they can also be picked up and rubbed on the back. If a baby who drinks from a bottle has chewed on the teat a lot, make sure to change it often. Your child could also pull out his or her tongue, which tells the brain to calm down.

Even though these tricks often work, you shouldn’t try remedies that worsen them. Spicy foods like cayenne water or hot peppers can stop hiccups but also worsen them. Peppers can also make toddlers upset since most toddlers don’t like peppers. It’s also not a good idea to scare them because that can make your child feel terrified. It’s not healthy for toddlers to drink upside down, and it can cause them to choke.

How To Stop Hiccups In Kids?

You may prevent your kid from having frequent hiccups by taking a few simple precautions. These techniques are often advised for reducing the duration of transient hiccups rather than addressing persistent and intractable hiccups.

• Make sure the child does not eat too quickly.
• Teach your child to chew thoroughly before swallowing.
• Tell them to take their drinks slowly.
• Inculcate in your kid the habit of drinking directly from a glass.
• Avoid using straws.
• Prevent your kid from consuming extremely hot and extremely cold items simultaneously.
• Avoid overfeeding your child, and ensure they don’t overeat if they’re old enough to eat alone.

Different people have different reactions to hiccups. You can ask your Kid to attempt any of the following methods to deal with hiccups:

• Drink a glass of water
• Hold their breath as long as possible.
• Just blow it into a paper bag. Note that they shouldn’t use plastic bags and should only use paper bags.
• Take deep, slow breaths.
• Put as much of their head as possible between their legs to squeeze the diaphragm.
• Try to keep them busy.

You could potentially shock or scare the child. Take care not to traumatize the child. The idea is to divert them so they are distracted from the hiccups. Some parents tickle their children instead of scaring them, which may also be effective.

Home Remedies to get rid of hiccups for kids

Hiccups in children are so prevalent that most experienced parents have home remedies on hand. These simple, safe hiccup treatments will help you relax your child and prevent doctor visits unless the hiccups are persistent or intractable.

1. Put something sour in the child’s mouth, like a slice of lemon, and ask them to suck it.
2. Put some sugar on their tongue. Tell the child to wait between 5 and 10 seconds before swallowing it. In some cases, other sweet foods like peanut butter or honey also work well.
3. Give the child something hot or cold to drink. This helps if the hiccups were caused by a sudden change in the stomach’s temperature.
4. Let them drink the water slowly.
5. Give them chips of ice.
6. You could also give the child a gentle massage on his or her upper stomach. Remember to move your fingers in downward motions and be careful not to hurt the child by pressing too hard.
7. Help them drink fennel, peppermint, or chamomile tea when they have muscle spasms. Use a dropper to give your young child the drink.
8. Get the child to gargle for 30 seconds with ice-cold water. If the child still has hiccups after one round, do it again.

Proven safe remedies to get rid of hiccups for kids

Most of the time, hiccups stop after a few minutes. But if your kid has hiccups, you can try a few natural remedies.

• Peppermint, chamomile, or fennel tea. The best and safest herbs for getting rid of hiccups are chamomile, fennel, and peppermint. Use a dropper to give your kid small amounts of warm tea. Repeat until they stop getting hiccups.
• Light pressure on the upper stomach. Press gently and quickly downward on your child’s upper tummy area. Each movement should be timed to correspond with the hiccup. Given the unpredictability of hiccups, this cannot be easy. When working with kids, remember to keep the pressure low.
• Focus on breathing. Breath into a paper bag and hold your breath for as long as possible are two remedies that involve the breath. One method is to “forcefully inhale via the mouth at the same time the hiccup occurs.” It prevents spasms from occurring.
• Bring on the tickles. It is a gentler alternative to the fright approach as a hiccup remedy. It will divert your kid’s attention away from their hiccups, which is generally all that is required to make them disappear. Just remember to back off as soon as your kid advises you to.
• Drink cold water. A glass of cold water may soothe an irritable diaphragm and allow it to return to its regular movement pattern. 

What not to do

You should stay away from some natural remedies, especially when it comes to young children.

• Don’t give cayenne water to your young child. Spicy food can stop hiccups but also make them start or get worse. “Most kids don’t like hot peppers at all, and they can even get very upset by them.
• Don’t terrify your child. People often say that a good scare will get rid of the hiccups. You don’t want to terrify your child, though. If you do this, make it more about surprising your child and less about scaring the living daylights out of them.
• Don’t let your child drink while they are on their backs. Another common way to stop hiccups is to drink something while hanging upside down. But it could cause choking, so it’s best to stay away from it.

When To See A Doctor?

Consider any of the following problems in your child to be significant enough to demand a visit to the doctor.

1. If an episode of hiccups lasts more than 24 hours and bothers your child or interferes with their daily activities, consult a doctor and learn how to deal with it.
2. You should consult a doctor if the hiccups continue to occur for more than 48 hours.
3. Intractable hiccups that persist for more than a month are rare in young children, but if your child has them, see a doctor immediately.
4. Visit a doctor if your child has significant weight loss or insomnia that you suspect is caused by hiccups.

Make a note of any additional symptoms the child may exhibit. Please inform the doctor if your child is taking medication for other conditions. Uncontrollable hiccups can be a symptom of major illnesses, a side effect of certain medications, or an indication of a foreign object in the ear.

FAQs: How to get rid of Hiccups for kids

1. What happens when a child hiccups?

During hiccups, the diaphragm contracts, followed by laryngeal closure. It results in a rush of air into the lungs. Because the vocal cords are now closed, it makes a “hic” sound.

2. Are frequent hiccups in children a sign of anything?

Hiccups signify a brain lesion, liver or kidney disease, malignancy, intestinal sickness, or uremic poisoning. It could also be due to unknown reasons or irritation from procedures or medicines.

3. Is it normal for kids to get hiccups multiple times daily?

Kids can get hiccups more than once a day for many different reasons. It can be caused by a health issue, eating too much, or eating too quickly.

4. Why do kids get single hiccups now and then?

Kids can get hiccups from small things that bother them. Single hiccup can be caused by strong feelings, eating or drinking, or both. It can also happen for no clear reason.

5. Do hiccups mean kids are growing?

Hiccups for kids are not a sign that they are growing. Some old stories say that kids’ hiccups mean they will grow quickly, but these are not true.

Final words: How to get rid of Hiccups for kids

How to get rid of Hiccups for kids? Kids often get hiccups. Some of the most common things that can cause it is eating or drinking too much or too quickly, eating spicy foods, or having indigestion. If hiccups happen often and last a long time, you should worry.

But you should consult a doctor first if your child’s hiccups happen too often and get in the way of daily life. Your child can stop having hiccups by sucking on something sour, like a slice of lemon, drinking something hot or cold, or having his or her stomach gently massaged. By now, you know how to get rid of hiccups for kids by following the above-mentioned remedies.