Wednesday, December 3, 2008

What's up with the hiccups???

Karlie Bean had hiccups nine times yesterday so that made me wonder what causes hiccups??? I remember learning long ago that it had something to do with the diaphragm but couldn't recall details so i found my answer with a quick search. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of your chest, and all hiccups start here.
The diaphragm almost always works perfectly. When you inhale, it pulls down to help pull air into the lungs. When you exhale, it pushes up to help push air out of the lungs. But sometimes the diaphragm becomes irritated. When this happens, it pulls down in a jerky way, which makes you suck air into your throat suddenly. When the air rushing in hits your voice box, you're left with a big hiccup.
Some things that irritate the diaphragm are eating too quickly or too much, an irritation in the stomach or the throat, or feeling nervous or excited. While i may never know exactly what caused Karlie's hiccups i'm thankful to report they were easy to get rid of each time with a few sips of milk. Hopefully they won't be returning today because the hiccups are only funny so long.

1 comment:

"Q!" said...

When Quincey gets the hiccups, she gets them really good and hard, they last quite awhile, but they don't seem to hurt or bother her when she does get them.

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I am four years old. Last year i was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome. Rett is the most physically disabling neurological disorder on the Autism Spectrum. I can't speak or use my hands anymore but i'm a very happy girl and my blue eyes speak volumes! Typically, Rett only affects females and strikes between 6-18 months. Less than 4,500 girls have been diagnosed in the US but many have been missed. Currently there is NO CURE but researchers are working hard and Rett was recently reversed in mice!!! Please join us in supporting funding for a cure. Please visit www.girlpower2cure.org and www.rsrt.org to donate. I was born healthy and developed as i should have. I could roll over, sit up, crawl, play with toys and i could even talk a little but then things started changing. My hands stopped working and i lost intrest in almost everything. Instead of laughing, i cried. My walking improved, but my words went away. I stopped playing with toys, i couldn't feed myself, i couldn't even scratch my own nose anymore. My world was changing around me. I knew it, but was helpless against it. This is my Rett Syndrome journey. Please donate $$$ to unlock my world and so many others!

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