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By Mayo Clinic staffMost cases of hiccups go away on their own, without medical treatment. If an underlying medical condition is causing your hiccups, treatment of that illness may eliminate the hiccups. The following treatments may be considered for hiccups that have lasted longer than two days.
Medications
Drugs most commonly used to treat long-term hiccups include:
- Chlorpromazine, a powerful antipsychotic
- Metoclopramide (Reglan), an anti-nausea drug
- Baclofen (Lioresal), a muscle relaxant
Surgical and other procedures
- Nasogastric (NG) tube. If your stomach is distended, a thin, flexible tube inserted through your nose and into your stomach (nasogastric tube) may stop hiccups.
- Nerve block. If less invasive treatments aren't effective, your doctor may recommend an injection of an anesthetic to block your phrenic nerve to stop hiccups.
- Vagus nerve stimulation. A battery-operated device that's surgically implanted into your chest can be programmed to deliver mild electrical stimulation to your vagus nerve. This procedure is most commonly used to treat epilepsy, but has also helped control persistent hiccups.
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