ASK JiMMY + ThE BuG?

Hiccups are sudden, uncontrolled contractions of your diaphragm-one of the muscles that control breathing. The space between your vocal cords, called the glottis, normally opens as you inhale. When you hiccup, it snaps shut. This blocks the airflow in your windpipe for a second and makes a "hic" sound. Your glottis closing causes the feeling you get in your throat when you hiccup.

Anything that irritates your diaphragm and its nerves-very hot or cold drinks or foods, eating too much or too fast, or vigorously exercising right after you eat-could increase your chances of getting the hiccups. Some people hiccup when they're anxious. Being nervous can set off abnormal signals in the brain's breathing control center. But what exactly causes hiccups remains a mystery.

To cure hiccups, you might try holding your breath or breathing into a paper bag. This increases the carbon dioxide level in your blood, which should stop your hiccups. If that doesn't work, you could try drinking water or pulling hard on your tongue. As strange as it sounds, this stimulates a nerve that goes from your brain to your stomach and could also stop your hiccups. Even if these remedies fail, your hiccups will go away by themselves. They don't last long-unless you're poor Charles Osborne, an Iowa farmer who hic . . . hic . . . hiccupped nonstop for 68 years.

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