Strangely, a short time after I awoke I came down with a case of the hiccups today. I can't even remember the last time I had them for more than a minute or two. But this went on for over 8 hours. I tried the things that normally work - drinking water, eating things like crunch peanut butter and other coarse foods that can irritate the phrenic nerve, which can cause the hiccups but also cure them. The crunchy peanut butter has always worked. But this time nothing helped and my stomach muscles were getting sore. One a whim I had an impulse that gargling might work, and in particular gargling with mint Listerine. I was thinking it has a little bite but not too much. And the gargling should effect the phrenic nerve directly. I tried it and gargled for about a minute. And I haven't had a hiccup since. Wow! It worked instantly and completely!
It isn’t the phrenic but the vagus nerve - this is why any counter irritation to any of the myriad of areas that the vagus nerve goes to can stop hiccups (singultus) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538225/#article-22862.s8
Causes The most common triggers for hiccups that last less than 48 hours include: Drinking carbonated beverages Drinking too much alcohol Eating too much Excitement or emotional stress Sudden temperature changes Swallowing air with chewing gum or sucking on candy Hiccups that last more than 48 hours may be caused by a variety of factors, which can be grouped into the following categories. Nerve damage or irritation A cause of long-term hiccups is damage to or irritation of the vagus nerves or phrenic nerves, which serve the diaphragm muscle. Factors that may cause damage or irritation to these nerves include: A hair or something else in your ear touching your eardrum A tumor, cyst or goiter in your neck Gastroesophageal reflux Sore throat or laryngitis https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiccups/symptoms-causes/syc-20352613 I did have reflux badly this AM for some reason.
