Baby Hiccups…what really are they? what to do?

Hic..hic..hic…!Hiccups, hiccups, hiccups!!! Wow what a topic! I have had to stop a mother from pulling out her baby`s tongue and worse things all based on our beliefs handed down by our grand mothers.  Causes include eating too quickly, eating or drinking too much, diseases that irritate the nerves that control the diaphragm, abdominal surgery, strokes or brain tumors, noxious fumes, and
certain medications.

Certain home remedies employed include putting cotton wool on the babys head, pulling the babys tongue, giving drinking water and a whole lot of other rituals to scare hiccups away.

Hold up! Hiccups  is a sudden, involutary contraction(spasms) of the diaphragm muscle. When the muscle spasms, the vocal cords snap shut, producing the hiccup sound. Hiccups are rhythmic and usually just cause a temporary minor annoyance. Note here if prolonged would signify a medical problem. The longest recorded hiccup attack is six decades. Hiccups can even occur in a fetus in utero. Medical care is rarely needed to resolve hiccups. There are a whole lot of remedies to be applied but done in an adult. These are medically believed to work based on carbon dioxide build up example holding your breath etc. Please if your baby has hiccups just give water this acts on the vagus nerve which is believed to be stimulated(this nerve runs from the brain to the stomach).

Another is to play with the baby and try to distract the baby. Rocking your baby with a purpose and rubbing his back does the trick. Breastfeeding your baby works too. Keeping your baby upright for 30 minutes or more to burp also helps. Remember baby`s eat fast and take in a lot of air at feeding hence reflux also occurs. Another school of thought suggest taking Gripe water. Or you can wait them out and it just disappears within 10 minutes. Be sure to keep in mind that hiccups are normal in babies. Following this instructions, the hiccups will resolve in due time. If after awhile it does not resolve call your baby`s paediatrician.