hiccups

Doey, BSN, RN · Apr 13, 2002

What I found that works and doesn't require any special equipment but your hands and can be done anywhere, is to apply pressure to both eyes at the same time. I usually do this for about 20 maybe 30 secs. Sometimes not even that long. I do occassionally have to repeat it but it's usually because I haven't held pressure for long enough. Hope that helps.

jules-RN · Apr 13, 2002

When I was in school, there was a patient that used to get the hiccups a lot. They ended up getting an order for Thorazine IM. It worked wonders for him.

wildhoney · Apr 14, 2002

This is really a weird one but I made it up as a small child. It alway works for me and the people I help. : ) Don't laugh.

Take a drink of water

Hold it in your mouth

stare into the light for 12-15 sec. ( I guess I needed a focal point: )

swallow.

: )

Agnus · Apr 14, 2002

This is one I was taught by a CNA and it is about the ONLY thing that works 100% of the time for me. Now I don't know how realistic this will be for your surgery pts. (for obvious reasons) but here goes. Take a mouthfull of water. bend over from the waist with head STRAIGHT DOWN and then swallow.

Other things that sometimes work. Cough (especially if you can time it just before a hicup.

Hold a mouth full full of water in your mouth for a few seconds then swallow.

Hold your breath.

Scare/startle the person.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Apr 14, 2002

Hiccups occur due to irritation of Phrenic nerve during surgery.

All of the above have good results...wouldn't do the bendover trick in post op pts. Often just getting them to hold breath and attempt to turn side to side will increase thoracic pressure, decreasing nerve irritation. Intractable hicoughs respond well to PO/IM Thorazine.

mario_ragucci · Apr 14, 2002

Hi Karen, this is very interesting to me. Can you offer, in a few words, the mechanism that makes a hiccip occur at those intervals, as opposed to a "cough" responce that comes on all at once. What kind of thing is going on in those nerves.

Thank you very much

micro, RN · Apr 14, 2002

nope not karen.........

know the only thing that ever worked for me was drinking upside down from a glass of water and from the opposite side of the glass that you would usually drink from.........

my granddad taught me that one.........or was it.........

micro

wait maybe this belongs on nursing superstitions thread.........micro at it again.......hehehehehhehehhe

NurseDennie, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2002

Last I heard, the whole mechanism/trigger "thang" for hiccoughs wasn't really understood.

Thorazine doesn't always work, but it's pretty durn good.

I've never tried thorazine - the feedback technique with the fingertips lightly placed over my eyelids works for me. Slowing my breathing and trying to relax my diaphragm. I think that the putting the fingertips on the eyelids keeps the eyes from moving when they're closed. Why that should help, who knows?

Love

Dennie

shg · Apr 14, 2002

Hello Everybody,

Something that alls gets rid of the hiccups for me is to drink a glass of water with a napkin over it. Don't really know why it works, maybe one of you do.

aimeee, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2002

Hospice standing orders for hiccups are:

Reglan 10-20 mg PO Q6h prn

or

Phenergan 25 mg PO Q6h prn

or

Compazine suppository 25 mg Q4-6h prn

or

Thorazine 25 mg PO or PR 1-2 tabs Q4-6h prn

CEN35 · Apr 14, 2002

ok forget the medications. i know this will sound a little off the wall, but it does work! it is something a friends garndmother told him about at one time.

take a glass of water with a straw in it. have the person drink the water, while keeping their fingers in their ears. they need to obstruct the ear canals, so there are no pressure changes while drinking the entire glass of water.

it's not immediate, but within a few minutes afterwards it does work!

me :)