| The name Charles Osborne may not ring a bell to | | | | your chest and abdomen. The phrenic nerve controls |
| readers today. But in his time he was famous for one | | | | movement of your diaphragm. There's one phrenic |
| thing: hiccups. | | | | nerve on each side of your body. The phrenic nerves |
| The Guinness World Records lists him as the man | | | | run from your brainstem through your neck and |
| with the longest attack of hiccups. His hiccups began | | | | down to your diaphragm," said the Mayo Clinic. |
| in 1922 at the rate of 40 times per minute and finally | | | | Hiccups are also part of the body's defense system. |
| ended after 68 years in 1990! | | | | If you swallow a large piece of meat or drink plenty |
| "It has been estimated that Osborne hiccupped 430 | | | | of fluids, the glottis (the opening from the mouth to |
| million times over the 68-year period. The average | | | | the throat) automatically closes to prevent food |
| human only hiccups about 2,300 times in an average | | | | from getting into the wind¬pipe. At the same |
| lifetime. Osborne began hiccupping in 1922, while | | | | time, the diaphragm forces the food upward by |
| slaughtering a hog. Despite his condition, he was able | | | | contracting its muscles. When the danger has passed, |
| to lead a normal life, and was even married two | | | | the nerves of the diaphragm and glottis relax. If they |
| times," said the editors of Wikipedia. | | | | don't, a person has hiccups. |
| Luckily for most people, hiccups or "singultus" (the | | | | When hiccups are persistent or last more than 48 |
| medical term for this condition) disappear on their | | | | hours, they may be caused by an underlying medical |
| own. Although they can be embarrassing at times, | | | | condition. Possible causes are nerve damage or |
| hiccups are seldom a serious problem. Often episodes | | | | irritation, damage to the central nervous system, |
| last for a few minutes or less than 48 hours. | | | | complications following surgery, anxiety or stress. |
| Anything that stimulates the phrenic and the vagus | | | | There are many home remedies for hiccups. Holding |
| nerves causes hiccups. This includes swallowing air, | | | | your breath is one of them. Others find relief in |
| drinking cold water, eating a large meal or hot or | | | | drinking cold water, gargling while holding one's breath, |
| spicy foods, talking while eating, tobacco and alcohol | | | | coughing, sneezing, putting a pinch of salt on the |
| use, sudden temperature changes and excitement or | | | | back of the tongue, breathing into a paper bag or a |
| emotional stress. | | | | sharp yank on the tongue. Being startled can also |
| "The vagus nerve serves as a communication | | | | stop hiccups in some people. |
| pathway between your brain and organs, such as | | | | For stubborn cases, your doctor may prescribe |
| your heart, lungs and intestines. There's one vagus | | | | tranquilizers or anticonvulsants. Another treatment |
| nerve on each side of your body. These nerves run | | | | involves injecting an anesthetic into the phrenic nerve. |
| from your brainstem through your neck and down to | | | | |