hiccups: 8 simple but effective tips to cure hiccups for children

Causes of hiccups

Hiccups are very common in infants and young children.

Hiccups are caused by stimulation of the diaphragm under the chest causing contractions. This can happen to people of all ages. Even babies can still get hiccups. Even babies hiccup more. Some cases of hiccups can be seen as follows:

Baby hiccups right after bottle feeding: Many babies have continuous hiccups after feeding. The reason for this is that while the baby is nursing, the air in the bottle has been swallowed with the milk. When it gets too high it causes irritation that causes the diaphragm to constrict and produce hiccups.

Sudden change in temperature causes hiccups: When the temperature drops sharply and suddenly, the air entering the lungs will make the baby cold. This can cause hiccups. To fix it, just keep the child warm every time it gets cold.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): When this occurs, it means that the acid in the baby’s stomach is going back up into the esophagus. Compared with other cases, gastroesophageal reflux causing hiccups is more common because the baby’s digestive system is not yet fully developed. In severe cases, the child needs to be examined to determine the pathology.

8 simple ways to treat hiccups in children

Most infant hiccups are harmless and usually go away on their own. Only a small number of strong and prolonged hiccups cause fatigue, vomiting, and crying. To help your child, you can do the following: 

1. Give your baby water or milk to drink

Breastfeeding is a good solution to cure hiccups.

Of the ways to treat hiccups, water is the easiest and most effective solution. You can use a spoon to give your baby a sip of cold boiled water. With babies, you can breastfeed them right away instead of giving them water. For babies who are already weaned, you can give them about 100ml of water slowly. If the child is older, you can give them small sips of water with deep breathing and sitting in a knee bent position. Most babies get rid of hiccups with this remedy.

2. Use your fingers to cover your baby’s ears or nose

You can use two fingers to cover the sides of the child’s ears. After about half a minute release again. Alternatively, you can use your hands to close the nostrils while covering the child’s mouth for the first few seconds. Maintain and repeat from 10 to 15 times the child will stop hiccups.

On the other hand, the mother can scratch the baby’s lips or ears. You gradually count about 50 times, the baby will stop hiccups. If your baby is able to cry as soon as he has hiccups, it will help stop the hiccups because crying dilates the esophageal nerve and cuts irritation to the diaphragm under the chest.

3. Pat your baby on the back

Pinch your hands together and pat them on the back one at a time to cure hiccups.

More simply, you can put your hands together and pat the baby on the back one by one. Remember that each patting movement must be firm and gentle. This can help your baby burp and avoid reflux episodes.

4. Feed the child with sugar

Sugar has a sweet taste that will trick the esophageal nervous system, helping the baby avoid hiccups. However, this method only applies to older children 2 years of age and older.

5. Use honey

A few drops of honey can also help your baby get over hiccups. However, infants and young children under 1 year of age are very susceptible to allergies to honey causing poisoning. Therefore, this method should only be used for older children. If necessary, the mother should use a gauze swab with honey to cure hiccups.

6. Change your baby’s feeding position

If your baby hiccups a lot after each bottle feed, you can change the feeding position to limit the amount of air she swallows. At the same time, you can turn the bottle upside down to check if the nipple is punctured or torn because that could cause more air to come in. 

7. Help your baby burp after feeding

After a full feed, babies can limit gas bloating, which causes hiccups, by burping. Bring your hands together and pat your baby’s upper back to make it easier for him to burp right away. This also helps children avoid vomiting very effectively.

8. Use anise seeds

Use anise seeds to treat hiccups in older children.

This treatment is applicable to older children. Accordingly, you use a cup of boiling water and put some anise seeds in it. Wait for about 15 minutes when the water cools, then give it to the child to drink.

Things need to notice:

If you have applied the usual remedies but the baby does not get better, stop breastfeeding because it may make the baby vomit a lot.

Continue to monitor the child for the next few hours. If the baby hiccups continuously for 3 hours without stopping, you should take the child to the doctor.

Hiccups accompanied by persistent vomiting are serious problems of the stomach, which should be examined promptly.