It’s known that sneezing is a reflex to prevent dust or nose hairs or whatever from getting down into the lungs, but why do people and animals sometimes get hiccups? What function does that serve, and what causes them?
Also, bonus points for any random useful tips on how to make hiccups go away…
I believe I read that it helps with lung development when the fetus is swimming in the water in the womb or something like that. But otherwise not really useful.
I read once that your body does it when your blood is low in oxygen, but I have no idea if that’s true or not.
From my understanding, that’s actually what causes mammals to yawn. No idea why it seems ‘contagious’ though, obviously yawning is more of a voluntary reflex. So why is it that if you see someone else yawn, you’re likely to also yawn? 🤷♂️
Maybe your brain is like “oh shit, maybe I need some oxygen too!”
From what I understand: We don’t know! Science hasnt actually figured it out yet and I haven’t even read or heard about theories as to why we do it in regards to an evolutionary trait.
As for making them stop, there are several possible solutions:
- hold your breath
- gulp down some water
- smoke a cigarette
- Have the pants scared off you
smoke a cigarette
Funny anecdote, there is a brand of cigarettes that used to often give me hiccoughs, really weird.
That just means you lit the wrong end silly. 😂
I read (this morning) that there’s a theory that hiccups are a reflex to pump air across one’s gills, and are more common in foetuses & premature babies as their lungs aren’t fully developed…
So I guess if that is the case (as it’s a theory) then yes, just not in humans - they’re remnants of over 300 million years ago
Hiccups, I was always told, are when the gases in something release out of it during digestion, like how a hollow carcass in the sea dissolves releases all its bubbles, which if correct, means it’s less a biological function and more a biological response, one that can be avoided by not eating anything hollow or that which contains a mixed chemical content capable of varying forms of interaction, hence the hiccups you might get after drinking certain beverages.
You never heard of burping? Come on. This is clearly bollocks.
Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that I very consistently (as in, nearly 100% of the time) get hiccups while shaving, almost always whenever I get to the parts under my chin or the sides of my neck, with the severity getting worse the longer it takes me to do those areas. I’m kinda curious why that might happen, especially if hiccups have to do with food (I obviously don’t eat anything while shaving). Every time I’ve asked someone about this when the topic of hiccups comes up somewhere, they’ve told me this doesn’t happen to them and have never heard of it being a thing, so maybe I’m just weird that way? Kinda frustrating tbh as I’ve yet to find a way to prevent it.
I give myself hiccups if I cough too hard. It sucks. Also if I eat food that is too spicy, which sucks because I love spicy. Too bad lol I eat it anyways and just deal with the hiccups.
Why you bring a Reddit avatar out of the zoo?
Oh well, you do you, happy holidays!
It was my avatar for R*ddit for like nine years, it felt weird to not see it when using alternatives like Lemmy.
Edit: and to you as well.
