Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffWhile you may initially consult your family physician about your persistent hiccups, he or she may refer you to a doctor who specializes in neurological or gastrointestinal disorders.
What you can do
You may want to write a list that includes:
- Detailed descriptions of your symptoms
- Information about medical problems you've had
- Information about the medical problems of your parents or siblings
- All the medications and dietary supplements you take
- Questions you want to ask the doctor
What to expect from your doctor
In addition to performing a physical exam, your doctor may ask:
- When did your hiccups start?
- How often do they occur?
- Is there anything that worsens or alleviates them?
- What medications are you taking?
- Have you had a sore throat or earache?
He or she may also perform a neurological exam, to check your:
- Reflexes
- Muscle strength
- Muscle tone
- Senses of touch and sight
- Coordination
- Balance
- Pollack MJ. Hiccups. In: Rakel RE, et al. Conn's Current Therapy 2008. 60th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/126185871-3/816916385/1621/10.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4435-2..50006-6_54. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- Fishman MB. Overview of hiccups. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 18, 2007.
- Noble J. Hiccup. In: Noble J, et al. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2001. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/126410452-3/817465929/959/142.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-00828-3..50028-5_565. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Syndromes of inappropriate respiratory muscle contraction. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/126411821-5/817480731/1288/752.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-0327-0..50085-9--cesec97_4678. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Dahlin C. Management of symptoms other than pain. Anesthesiology Clinics of North America. 2006;24:39.
- Schachter SC, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
