Summary

The website provides a method to cure hiccups that involves hyperventilating, closing the mouth, squeezing the nose, and swallowing air ten times.

Abstract

The article titled "How to Stop the Hiccups" offers a unique approach to curing hiccups without resorting to common methods like scares or drinking water. It suggests a four-step process: first, the individual must hyperventilate to fill their lungs with air. Next, they should close their mouth and pinch their nose shut with two fingers. The third step involves swallowing the air while keeping the mouth closed and the nose pinched. Finally, the person should repeat the swallowing process nine more times, aiming for a total of ten swallows, though the exact number needed may vary. The author, Dash Ip, shares a personal anecdote of successfully using this method in a hostel in New Delhi and expresses confidence in its effectiveness.

Opinions

The author believes that the described method is highly effective, stating that it has worked every time they reached ten swallows.
Common hiccup remedies involving sudden frights or drinking water are considered ineffective by the author.
The article implies that the effectiveness of the method is not necessarily tied to completing all ten swallows, as some individuals may find relief before reaching that number.
The author humbly admits that they do not remember where they learned the technique, suggesting it is not a mystical or ancient secret, despite the potential implication of its origin.
The personal testimonial from the "hostel guy with the hiccups" endorses the method, indicating that it can work for different people in various situations.

How to Stop the Hiccups

This does not involve sudden frights or copious amounts of water.

Oh, snap. You’ve got the hiccups!

You don’t know where they came from. Google could easily tell you, but you don’t really care. All you care about is making them go away. Maybe it’s been a while since you had them. Maybe you just had them yesterday.

Doesn’t matter. It’s annoying.

More than ten years ago, in a hostel in New Delhi, a guy in one of the other dorm beds got the hiccups. I showed him this trick, and he thanked me profusely afterward.

“I’ve tried everything. This is the only thing that works!” — hostel guy with the hiccups (most likely misquoted)

I’d like to say this is some mystical technique I learned in the ancient land of India, but I had just flown into the country for the first time several hours ago. In fact, I no longer remember where I had learned this.

So, if drinking buckets of water or inviting the person closest to you to surprise you with a scare hasn’t worked for you, give this a try.

Step 1: Hyperventilate

You’re going to need to fill your lungs with air. This might take a while.

Step 2: Close your mouth and squeeze your nose shut with two fingers

It can be any two fingers, but ideally one of them should be your thumb.

Step 3: Swallow

Yes, you’re swallowing nothing but air, which is actually not nothing, but that’s a different article.

Keep your mouth closed and nose squeezed shut.

Step 4: Swallow nine more times

Yup, you read that right. Nine. You’ll most likely come up for air before you hit the magical ten, which is somewhat arbitrary. There have been times when I didn’t get to ten and the hiccups went away. But there has never been a time when I got to ten and the hiccups didn’t go away.

Swallow as many times as you can (but probably stay in the single digits). Perhaps six or seven times are enough for you. You’ll figure it out after several tries.

Good luck!

Dash Ip hopes this little article has been of help. He usually writes longer stuff like novels.