EA cold drink, a sudden change in temperature, or let’s face it, one shot too many and it happens. The diaphragm is startled, gets out of rhythm and generates pressure waves that rise up the trachea as annoying to painful hiccups. What to do? There are endless tips against hiccups circulating: hold your breath, let yourself be startled, have a glass of water, say the lunch from the previous day – or do a headstand. However, experience has shown that these tricks do not work reliably – then the trickery simply continues. Or it’s too hard. Who can do a headstand from the Lamäng?
The trick may sound complicated at first, but it isn’t.
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Bild: Kai Felmy
A trick from Estonia
A friend of mine once had hiccups all night long until the next noon after a beer which he irrationally downed in one gulp! This is not without risk, as the permanent contraction of the diaphragm can trigger a cardiac arrhythmia or even a heart attack. At that time I didn’t know the trick that I finally picked up in Estonia and that has always saved me reliably so far. I’ve given it to people in acute hiccups on different continents – it’s always worked.
Anyone plagued by an attack of hiccups does indeed need a glass of water. But there’s no point just drinking it. The magic is in drinking the glass overhead. That’s not difficult: Take the glass with still water in your hand, bend your upper body at the hip towards the floor.
Your gaze should be straight down now. Bring the glass to your mouth, but on the opposite side to where you would normally drink while standing upright. Now tilt it forward. Don’t worry, nothing will spill on the floor. Take at least four large sips. Get back up – done.
What sounds insanely complicated here isn’t in practice – just make sure to put the glass with the rim furthest away from you and nothing can go wrong. The result is convincing. Drinking overhead apparently challenges the body coordination in such a way that the diaphragm is “set back to go”. Bottom up!